Copyright ghanamma
The Ranking Member of Parliament’s Health Committee, Dr Nana Ayew Afriye, has blamed the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) for failing in their risk and public health assessment, which he believes contributed to the deadly stampede at the El-Wak Sports Stadium in Accra. Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Wednesday, November 11, 2025, he expressed disappointment in the Armed Forces for not anticipating the massive turnout during the ongoing recruitment exercise, describing the incident as both tragic and preventable. “Mr. Speaker, I’m extremely disappointed in the Armed Forces. I think they failed in their risk assessment,” he said. “You can choose to let people go, but when it gets to the security agencies, I don’t think that we can let them go of risk assessment,” Dr Afriye lamented. Six reported dead over stampede during military recruitment exercise The Health Committee Ranking Member also questioned whether the Ghana Armed Forces collaborated with the Ministry of Health or the Ghana Health Service before the recruitment exercise, noting that the event had clear public health implications. “I doubt if the Ministry of Health or, for that matter, the Ghana Health Service had anything to do with this,” he said. “You are going to a field on a course that borders on public health issues, and I doubt if they had any sort of partnership with them,” the Effiduase/Asokore lawmaker said. Dr Nana Ayew Afriye also cautioned against politicising the tragedy, calling instead for a sober review of the processes that led to the incident. “It’s a very painful one, and I ask that we depoliticize this situation as much as possible,” he urged. Dr Ayew Afriye further called on President John Dramani Mahama to appoint a substantive Minister of Defence to ease the workload on the Acting Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, who also serves as Minister of Finance. “Maybe this is the best time for the Commander-in-Chief to bring a Defence Minister. Our very good friend here is acting Defence and Finance, but we can’t have one ministry carrying two heavy portfolios for this long,” he suggested. He urged the Ministry of Defence to consider compensation for families of the victims and to brief Parliament on safety measures at other regional recruitment centres to prevent future tragedies. “I humbly submit to the acting Defence Minister that maybe in the compensation measure, we may want to look at the families involved graciously. There’s nothing that you do that would appease them, but there is a way to give families a sense of belonging and assurance that the government is there for them, for those who died and for those who sustained injuries,” he added. Mother condemns deadly chaos at military exercise recruitment Meanwhile, the Acting Minister of Defence, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, has announced the establishment of an internal board to investigate the deadly stampede that occurred during the Ghana Armed Forces recruitment exercise. The tragic stampede occurred on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, when thousands gathered at the El-Wak Sports Stadium in Accra for a Ghana Armed Forces recruitment exercise. According to a statement from the Ghana Armed Forces, six people lost their lives in the incident, while several others sustained injuries and are currently receiving treatment at the 37 Military Hospital. Authorities have since suspended the recruitment exercise until further notice. Chaos at El-Wak: Watch citizens recount harrowing experiences during GAF recruitment
