President John Dramani Mahama has directed the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) to immediately suspend its ongoing nationwide recruitment exercise following the tragic stampede at the El-Wak Sports Stadium in Accra, that left six people dead and several others injured.
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.
“I have asked the leadership of the Armed Forces to temporarily halt the recruitment exercise and conduct a full investigation. We must take a fresh approach to ensure such unfortunate incidents do not happen again,” President Mahama said.
The President, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, said the temporary suspension would allow for a review of the recruitment process to ensure greater safety, transparency and orderliness in future exercises.
Tragedy at El-Wak
The tragic incident occurred on Wednesday, November 12, 2025 when thousands of young Ghanaians thronged the El-Wak Sports Stadium for the GAF recruitment screening.
Witnesses said the crowd, desperate to secure a place in the Armed Forces, began pushing and forcing their way through the gates, triggering a deadly stampede.
By the time emergency services restored order, six people had lost their lives and at least 28 others were injured.
Of the 34 casualties recorded, five were in critical condition and receiving treatment in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the 37 Military Hospital. Twelve others were reported to be in fairly critical condition, while the remaining were stable and under observation.
Security personnel later cordoned off the area and diverted traffic to allow emergency medical teams to operate.
The bodies of the deceased have been deposited at the 37 Military Hospital morgue.
Acting Defence Minister Briefs Parliament
In a statement to Parliament, Acting Minister for Defence Cassiel Ato Forson confirmed the casualties and announced that the recruitment process in Accra had been suspended until further notice.
“Mr Speaker, I regret to report that there were 34 persons who were direct casualties, some of whom are potential recruits and others who were not related to the enlistment at all,” Dr Forson said, adding that “Out of these, six persons have been confirmed dead. Five are in critical condition and in the ICU.”
He said the Ghana Armed Forces had 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.
“We are 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,” he told Parliament.
According to Dr Ato Forson, the decentralised recruitment exercise had been designed to “reduce congestion, ensure transparency and fairness, and enhance accessibility nationwide.”
He expressed regret that despite these measures, the process in Accra had turned fatal. He assured Parliament that the recruitment exercise in other regions was continuing smoothly and without incident.
MP Calls for Systemic Reform
The Member of Parliament for Takoradi, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, expressed condolences to the bereaved families and the Ghana Armed Forces, but said the tragedy should serve as a turning point in how recruitment into the security services is conducted.
“Mr Speaker, this is not the first time we have heard of such incidents during recruitment,” he said.
“It is time that our planning process is changed for the recruitment of our young men into the Ghana Armed Forces,” he added.
The MP urged the government to decentralise recruitment down to the constituency level and to spread the process over several days to avoid overcrowding.
“There is no point putting over 10,000 people together at a single point. We can do it over a week, 1,000 at a time. When you put so many people together, even the potential for disease transmission is high.”
He argued that young Ghanaians seeking to serve the nation should not be made to endure unsafe or humiliating conditions. “We should let them know they have a duty to serve this country — and when they want to serve, we should not be punishing them.”
Mr Darko-Mensah also emphasised the deeper issue of youth unemployment, describing it as the underlying cause of the desperation seen at El-Wak.
“If over 30,000 people are trying to get into the Ghana Armed Forces, which might have just about 3,000 or 4,000 spaces, then it shows that there is a critical need to address the issue of employment,” he said.
He urged policymakers to prioritise private sector job creation and entrepreneurship education, noting that only a small fraction of graduates find employment in government institutions.
Military Promise Accountability
In a statement issued after the tragedy, the Ghana Armed Forces expressed “deep regret” and assured the public that investigations were ongoing. Preliminary findings suggested that the stampede was triggered by “an unexpected surge of applicants who breached security protocols and rushed into the gates ahead of the scheduled screening at about 6:20 a.m.”
The GAF extended condolences to the families of the deceased and pledged to support the injured. It also promised to review security arrangements and crowd management procedures to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
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The post Mahama To Military: Halt Recruitment Exercise appeared first on The Ghanaian Chronicle.
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