Ghanaian forestry professor Kofi Akamani dies in Illinois shooting; wife arrested

Ghanaian professor and environmental researcher Kofi Akamani has died following a shooting in Jackson County, Illinois, in the United States.

Akamani, 48, was a professor of forest recreation and conservation social science at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIU), where his research focused on natural resource management and how rural communities respond to environmental and economic changes.

According to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded at about 5 p.m. on Saturday, September 19, 2026, to a report of a shooting in progress near a residence off Lake Road between Murphysboro and Carbondale.

Akamani was taken to Memorial Hospital of Carbondale, where he was pronounced dead from injuries sustained in the shooting.

The sheriff’s office said Betty Akamani, 35, was arrested following the initial investigation and faces various charges, although the specific charges had not been disclosed.

Authorities have not released further details on the circumstances surrounding the shooting or the relationship between the two individuals.

Akamani had been a faculty member at SIU since 2011 and was promoted to full professor in 2024. He also served as director of the agricultural sciences doctoral programme and director of graduate studies in forestry.

His academic work focused on forest conservation, natural resource management and the social dimensions of environmental change, particularly how rural communities respond to environmental and economic pressures.

His research contributed to major environmental assessments in the United States and internationally. He was a contributor to the Fifth National Climate Assessment and served as a lead author on international environmental assessments covering biodiversity, water, food, health and the environment.

In June 2026, Akamani was elected Secretary General of the International Union of Biological Sciences for a three-year term. He also served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Sustainable Forestry.

Born and raised in Ghana, Akamani obtained his bachelor’s degree in 2003 before pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Oslo in Norway in 2006.

He later moved to the United States, where he earned a doctorate from the University of Idaho in 2011.

His academic achievements included the Southern Illinois University College of Agricultural Sciences Early Career Faculty Excellence Award in 2016 and the University of Idaho College of Natural Resources’ International Alumni Achievement Award in 2023.

Akamani’s work placed him at the intersection of forestry, conservation, climate change and community-based natural resource management, with research extending beyond academia into national and international environmental assessment processes.

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation into the shooting remains in its early stages.

Credit: wfiwradio.com