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Roundup: Sorrow, Anger Reign Over Ghana After Soccer Tragedy
Ghanaian President John Kufuor Thursday declared a three-day national mourning on the victims of a soccer tragedy, which killed about 130 people Wednesday night at a stadium in the country's capital Accra.
"I am aware of the anger so many of you feel about the conduct of some policemen at the stadium last night," said the president at a speech broadcast to the nation.
But "the eyes of the world are upon us and we must show the world that we are a dignified people," he added, in an apparent effort to bring the public's fury under control.
He also announced that all the medical expenses of the hospitalized victims will be borne by the government, and a non- denominational prayer be held on Sunday for the victims. Kufuor earlier visited the Accra National Stadium, the site of the disaster, reports reaching here said.
The tragedy occurred Wednesday night after a 2-1 victory by the reigning league champion Hearts of Oak. Angered by the result, supporters of the team's arch rival Asante Kotoko of Kumasi began to rip up seats at the stadium, hurling them onto the pitch.
The police fired tear gas in an attempt to quell the crowd, but to their dismay, the actions caused panic and a stampede, which was worsened by the fact that the gates of the 40,000-capacity stadium were locked at the time.
The Ghanaian Health Ministry said in a statement that about 130 people were killed in the stampede, and the statistics could rise because some bodies may have been taken home by their relatives without the knowledge of hospital authorities.
An independent committee of inquiry, headed by Sam Okudzeto, the former head of Ghana's bar association, has been set up under the government instruction to probe the accident.
Earlier on Thursday, Elizabeth Oghini, Ghanaian minister of media relations, said the police's role in triggering off the stampede will be investigated. Reports said some police on duty during the fatal match have been interdicted.
However, the minister said, the authorities could not be blamed alone for the tragedy as they had taken the necessary precautions before the match, including drafting police officers to the stadium to check possible violence between the fans of the two rival clubs.
But many fans still accused the police of over-reacting by using tear-gas, which, according to them, actually caused the stampede. Angry youths have already let loose their anger by attacking various police stations in the capital.
For the desperate relatives, they had no other choices, but to line up outside the hospital wards and morgues, waiting for good, and most probably, bad news.
"I just cannot believe it and the earth has stopped to move..." said a woman with tears blurring her eyes when getting the news that her husband died in the disaster.
Africa in the past months seemed to be in a season of soccer tragedies. Soccer accidents or violence took place one by one in Cote d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and, recently in a high-profile fashion, South Africa, killing a total of some 200.
Football stadiums in Africa are often old and poorly regulated. Alcohol is not banned, and police have little training in effective crowd control, African newspapers commented after Wednesday's tragedy. President Delivers Speech Ghanaian President John Kufuor Thursday pledged to take every possible action to bring anyone proved guilty in Wednesday's soccer tragedy into justice, reports reaching here said Thursday.
Addressing the nation on state-run television in the capital Accra, Kufuor announced a three-day national mourning to memorize the about 130 victims of the country's and Africa's worst tragedy on Wednesday night in the capital.
Kufuor also appealed to his countrymen to show constraint to curb the anger spreading against the police, who were widely blamed for causing the deadly stampede.
He further announced that all the medical expenses of the hospitalized injured would be paid by the government and a non- denominational prayer will be held on Sunday.
"I am aware of the anger so many of you feel about the conduct of some policemen at the stadium last night," said the president, adding that the police authorities had already taken action to interdict the officers who were in charge of the police contingent.
"The eyes of the world are upon us and we must show the world that we are a dignified people," he added.
The Africa's soccer tragedy happened late Wednesday in the capital when a match between the nation's premier league rivals Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko.
The reigning league champion Hearts of Oak won a 2-1 victory over the arch rival Asante Kotoko. The supporters of the defeated team then began to rip up seats at the Accra Sports stadium, hurling them onto the pitch.
The police fired a dozen of tear gas in an attempt to quell the crowd, which seized the crowd with a panic and caused a stampede. Many were unable to escape the trouble site because the gates were locked in the 40,000-capacity stadium.
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