At least six people have died during a crowd crush at a military recruitment event in a stadium in Ghana. President John Dramani Mahama has confirmed that all six victims who lost their lives during the tragic stampede at the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) recruitment exercise at the El-Wak Sports Stadium in Accra were young women.
The unfortunate incident occurred as thousands of Ghanaian youths queued overnight at Accra’s El Wak Stadium on Wednesday, November 12, for the Ghana Armed Forces 2025 recruitment screening. The tragic crush appeared to have been caused by an unexpected surge of applicants who breached security protocols and rushed into the gates, according to a statement from Ghana’s armed forces.
Army spokesperson Captain Veronica Adzo Arhin said the crush occurred ahead of the event’s scheduled start of 06:20 GMT. Acting Minister for Defence Cassiel Ato Forson told Parliament that there were 34 persons who were direct casualties, some of whom were potential recruits and others who were not related to the enlistment at all. Out of these, six persons have been confirmed dead, five are in critical condition and in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
Viral video from the scene shows a large number of applicants in long queues outside the stadium. Ghana has a youth unemployment rate of about 32%, the latest government statistics show, and such recruitment events normally draw large crowds and often result in chaotic scenes. The deadline to apply for this event was extended by a week to accommodate more applicants, as some had experienced difficulties in the process.
President Mahama has directed the Ghana Armed Forces to immediately suspend its ongoing nationwide recruitment exercise following the tragic stampede. Speaking at the launch of the Nkoko Nketenkete programme in the Ashanti Region, the President described the incident as deeply regrettable and ordered a full scale investigation to prevent future occurrences.
Preliminary accounts from military insiders suggest that only one side of the double metal gate at the El-Wak Sports Stadium was opened when the screening began, reportedly causing a bottleneck as thousands of applicants surged forward, leading to the deadly crush. Medical teams were immediately deployed to manage the emergency as victims were taken to the 37 Military Hospital for treatment.
The Ghana Armed Forces has launched an internal Board of Inquiry to investigate the causes of the stampede. The Ministry of Defence deeply mourns the loss of life and extends condolences to the affected families, working closely with the Armed Forces, medical teams and law enforcement agencies to provide full support to the injured and to investigate the circumstances that led to this tragedy.
President Mahama also revealed that a similar incident occurred in Kumasi, where several people sustained injuries during the nationwide recruitment exercise. The Member of Parliament for Takoradi, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, urged the government to decentralize recruitment down to the constituency level and to spread the process over several days to avoid overcrowding.
