Military officers overseeing recruitment ordered to step aside over El-Wak stampede as GAF launches probe

Senior military officers who supervised the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) recruitment exercise at El-Wak Sports Stadium have been asked to step aside to pave the way for investigations into the tragic stampede that left six people dead and several others injured.

JoyNews sources within the military have confirmed that new commanders have been appointed to take over the recruitment process once it resumes, as part of steps to ensure transparency and preserve the integrity of the ongoing probe.

Background

The incident occurred on Wednesday, November 12, during a GAF recruitment screening at the El-Wak Sports Stadium in Accra. Thousands of hopeful applicants, some of whom had travelled from across the country, began arriving at dawn, long before the scheduled start of the exercise.

A sudden surge at one of the entry gates caused a stampede, leaving six young women dead and several others injured. The wounded were rushed to the 37 Military Hospital and nearby facilities for emergency care.

Immediate response and suspension of recruitment

In response, the Ghana Armed Forces announced the suspension of recruitment activities in the Greater Accra Region and constituted a Board of Inquiry to investigate the circumstances leading to the tragedy.

President John Dramani Mahama has also directed that the nationwide recruitment exercise be suspended pending the outcome of the investigations. The Board is expected to examine crowd control measures, the conduct of officers on duty, and overall safety protocols during the exercise.

Meanwhile, there was a similar stampede at the Babayara Stadium in Kumasi, where the exercise also took place. Although no death was recorded, nearly twenty people were injured.

Wider lessons and public reaction

Security analysts and governance experts have long warned about the dangers of overcrowding at single recruitment centres. They have urged the Armed Forces and other security agencies to decentralise their recruitment processes, adopt strict batch scheduling, and enhance crowd-control systems.

Families of the victims and several civil society groups have called for accountability, insisting that lessons must be learned to prevent such tragedies in future. Religious and community leaders have also expressed grief and called for compassion toward the affected families.

The Board of Inquiry will review the full sequence of events, assess the adequacy of safety protocols, and determine any administrative or criminal lapses that contributed to the stampede.

The outcome is expected to guide major reforms in how national recruitment exercises are planned and executed.

For now, the suspension of recruitment in Accra remains in place until the Armed Forces complete their internal review and release the Board’s findings.