Sunday, 16 November

GFL calls for sanctions against officers over deadly El-Wak Stadium stampede

General News
Abraham Koomson

Secretary General of the Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL), Abraham Koomson, has demanded immediate sanctions against the military officers who supervised the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) recruitment exercise that ended in a deadly stampede at the El-Wak Sports Stadium in Accra.

The tragic incident, which occurred on Wednesday, November 12, claimed the lives of six young women and left several others injured during a mass screening exercise that drew thousands of applicants.

Speaking on Ahotor FM's show on Saturday, November 15, 2025, Mr. Koomson described the disaster as an avoidable failure resulting from poor planning, weak supervision, and inadequate crowd-control measures by military officials.

“I have a serious issue with the military. They didn’t handle the situation well,” he stated, expressing strong dissatisfaction with the conduct of officers overseeing the exercise.

Mr. Koomson also called for periodic psychological and medical evaluations for security personnel, asserting that some officers exhibit troubling behaviour while on duty.
“There should be a psychological evaluation of security personnel to examine them periodically.

The officers who supervised must be identified and dealt with,” he stressed.

According to eyewitness accounts, a sudden surge at one of the entry points led to the stampede as anxious applicants—many of whom had arrived at dawn—struggled to gain access to the stadium.

The injured were rushed to the 37 Military Hospital and other nearby facilities.

In response to the tragedy, the GFL Secretary General urged the Ghana Armed Forces and all security agencies to decentralise future recruitment exercises, adopt strict batch scheduling, and improve crowd-management procedures to safeguard applicants.

 

Mr. Koomson emphasised that the safety of young job seekers must be prioritised to prevent such devastating incidents from recurring.

Source: Classfmonline.com/Cecil Mensah