Member of Parliament for Effia, Isaac Boamah-Nyarko, has called for those responsible for the deadly stampede at the El-Wak Sports Stadium to be held accountable, warning that the Chief of Defence Staff should face consequences if he cannot explain what went wrong.
Speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen show, Mr. Boamah-Nyarko said the extremely long queues and lack of crowd control made the tragedy predictable, describing the scene as the longest queue he had ever seen for a validation process.
“The queue was very long, so when I heard about the stampede, I thought this was to be expected. There was no control mechanism in place and no one guiding the process; people were left on their own. How can we allow this to happen to ourselves as a country? This is my first time witnessing such a long queue, and this is just for the validation process. This falls under government responsibility, and someone should be held accountable,” he said.
The MP criticised the acting Defence Minister’s response in Parliament as vague and urged a thorough review of the recruitment exercise.
“What the acting Defence Minister said in Parliament was vague. We need a thorough analysis of what transpired. If the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) cannot clarify what happened, then the Chief of Defence Staff should be held responsible. If someone approved this process and it failed, that individual should also be held accountable. We seem not to care about our people. The President should address the nation on this matter, as it needs to be investigated,” he added.
The stampede on Wednesday claimed six lives and injured many others, prompting calls across the political spectrum for a full probe and stricter safeguards in future recruitment exercises.
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