Despair To Hope: Herbert Mensah Holds Torch 18 Years After Accra Stadium Disaster

When the question of sports stadia disasters on continental Africa or even in the world of football in general arises, the Accra sports stadium May 9 disaster is on the map for annual memorial and discussion on local and international media space.

There are two other similar and major tragic incidents in football stadium disaster history.

The first is the Hillsborough disaster which occurred during an FA Cup semi-final football match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England, on 15 April 1989. 96 people died and 766 got injured. It remains the worst disaster in British sporting history.

The second is The Ellis Park Stadium disaster, also the worst sporting accident in South African history which occurred on 11 April 2001 at the Ellis Park Stadium in the city of Johannesburg during a match between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, killing 49 people.

Barely a month after the South African experience, the Accra sports stadium disaster on May 9, 2001, occurred.

The Accra stadium disaster, the main focus of this article, occurred 18 years ago as a result of a stampede. But the stampede was preceded by a controversial match decision taken by the referee and rejected by the linesman. This was during a clash between Ghana’s biggest rival clubs, Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko.

The soccer fans of both teams protested by breaking and throwing seats at each other. The Ghana police reacted by throwing tear gas into the crowds who attempted to escape through the locked gates of the stadium, resulting in the deadliest stampede in Ghana’s sports history.

The official figure of the number of dead fans remains at 127. This claim has been disputed by many other sources including family members of victims who have not found the names of their relatives in the official victims' list.

Talking to many retired footballers and Ghanaian soccer fans who witnessed the incident in Accra in 2001, the general consensus is that compromised officiating of the game on May 9, 2001, brought about the needless deaths of so many people.

This assertion was recently given credence by the expose from investigative journalist Anas Armeyaw Anas on the Ghana footfall Association.

In his explosive documentary titled “number 12”, many referees, match officials and football administrators in Ghana are caught on video receiving bribe money to unduly influence and predetermine the outcome of league games.

No prosecutions, No deterrence
But with no real or deterrent outcome resulting from official investigations into the Accra stadium disaster in Ghana 18 years on, it is difficult to tell if any lessons have been learned.

After several years of police cover-ups and attempts to get justice for the families of victims in the case of the Hillsborough disaster, six people were in June 2017 charged with various offences including manslaughter by gross negligence, misconduct in public office and perverting the course of justice for their actions during and after the disaster.

The PSL in South Africa initially paid R15 000 to each bereaved family for funeral costs, then a further R7 500 from a trust fund. In late 2004, a little just over R30 000 to around R100 000 was awarded in a civil claim to families of victims.

But in Ghana, the government set up the stadium disaster fund to mobilise resources to provide relief to the families of victims and ameliorate the effects of the disaster on the bereaved families. One year after the fund was set up, it reportedly mobilized a total of ¢3.3 billion. But 18 years on, many families of the stadium disaster victims in Ghana are left in limbo without any tangible benefits from the fund managers who have rarely accounted publicly for their stewardship.

The setting up of the disaster fund was based on the recommendation of the Akudzeto commission which investigated the disaster of May 9. The commission found no individuals or institutions deserving of criminal prosecution.

Unfortunately, the families of victims of the Accra stadium stampede have not been able to mobilize a class action suit against football authorities or the police to seek justice for those who died needlessly.

No official memorial ceremonies
Governments of Ghana have taken a lukewarm attitude towards a national memorial for the 127 victims of the Accra stadium disaster over the past 18 years. Year after year, the government has reduced the memorial to a series of press statements.