Christopher Sededzi Kwame

Imagine walking to your mother, father, grandparents, or guardian and telling them that you’ll be leaving at dawn, just as the first rooster crows, either to chase your dream of joining the security services or, unknowingly, to cross over into another world.

Heads must roll. Systems must reset. And above all, common sense must return to the youth of our nation.

The year 2025 has brought Ghana more pain and tears than any other in recent memory. Our Wednesdays, once ordinary midweeks, have become days painted in grief and loss. It is as though the nation now needs spiritual fortification to withstand the recurring tragedies that strike on this cursed day.

We need not recall too many wounds, yet history reminds us of the scars we carry.

On Wednesday, May 9, 2001, one hundred and twenty-seven fathers, sons, brothers, and friends went to watch football and never returned. Can you imagine? They left their homes in jerseys, painted faces, and hearts full of passion for the beautiful game. By nightfall, their families were identifying bodies in a mortuary.

The Accra Sports Stadium disaster wasn’t an act of God. It was an act of human failure: a referee’s decision, poor crowd control, panic, and chaos. And then death. So much death that the stadium itself seemed to cry concrete tears. That day, football turned into mourning.

Years later, on Wednesday, June 3, 2015, the rains came like judgement. The floods rose like wrath. And at the GOIL filling station, fire met water in an apocalyptic explosion that consumed over 150 lives in an instant.

Close your eyes and imagine: families seeking shelter from the flood huddled together, children crying, parents promising, “We’ll be safe here.” And then an inferno.

Bodies burnt beyond recognition. Mothers clutching children who had become ash. The screams that night weren’t just heard; they were felt in the soul of every Ghanaian.

And again, on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, tragedy returned when a Z-9 military helicopter with tail number GHF 631 vanished from radar while en route from Accra to Obuasi.

It crashed in the Dampia Range Forest Reserve, claiming the lives of several top government officials, including the Minister for Defence, Dr Edward Omane Boamah, and the Minister for Environment, Dr Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, among others. Ghana wept.

Now, on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, another nightmare has unfolded, this time at the El-Wak Sports Stadium in Accra. What was meant to be a screening exercise for Ghana Armed Forces recruitment turned into a stampede, claiming the lives of six young women and injuring many others.

These were daughters who woke up that morning with dreams – dreams of serving their nation, lifting their families, and making their parents proud. Instead, they became victims of another dark Wednesday that history will never forget.

It is heartbreaking to remind you of these events, but it is to note that we must seek the face of the Lord for answers while we work rightfully to ensure that the right things are done.

A Place Once Known for Discipline

The El-Wak Sports Stadium, in my own memory, has always stood as a place of discipline and order. During my time at the Ghana Institute of Journalism (now the University of Media, Arts and Communication – Institute of Journalism), the military presence at El-Wak ensured strict adherence to protocol. You entered through the main gate – no shortcuts, no chaos.

So how did a stampede happen in the backyard of our Armed Forces?

For the first time, under the leadership of President John Dramani Mahama, every qualified citizen was given the opportunity to join the service, a commendable initiative meant to promote fairness and transparency. But what we witnessed at El-Wak is a stark reminder that our systems are still broken.

How do we expect over 3,000 youth to assemble for a screening exercise in a single day? Who authorised such poor planning? This is not just a failure; it is a preventable human error that has cost innocent lives.

We Can’t Continue Operating Like in the 20th Century

In this digital age, how can we still be organising mass physical screenings without technology, crowd-control systems, or regional coordination?

Videos circulating on social media show the heartbreaking scene of young women lying lifeless, dreams crushed, futures stolen. We cannot look away. Heads must roll. Accountability must be demanded.

Yet, as we call out institutional negligence, we must also speak hard truths to the youth. Common sense must return.

Those who pushed, shoved, and climbed walls in desperation ignored safety, discipline, and order. The result was chaos, chaos that turned deadly. Some fell. Some were trampled. And some will never return home.

A society that loses respect for rules and order is one that dances dangerously close to destruction.

A Personal Account

My own brother, who was present at the event, narrated that he could barely move; he was suspended in the air, crushed between bodies like a scene from a nightmare.
He told me, “If I had bent down to pick up my sandals, I would have died.”

That chilling statement sums up the horror of El-Wak Stampede.

Recommendations: Preventing the Next Tragedy

To the Ghana Armed Forces and all authorities involved, these are practical steps to prevent another disaster:

Segregate the Process:
Divide recruitment screenings according to service categories. Screen no more than 1,000 applicants per day.

Expand Screening Facilities:
Establish at least ten designated centres per region for better crowd management.

Enhance Security and Supervision:
Deploy additional personnel and enforce strict order during recruitment exercises.

Today, we mourn the six young women who died chasing their dreams.
May their souls rest in peace, and may their deaths serve as a wake-up call for a nation that must learn, once again, to value human life above all else.

Ghana, how many more dark Wednesdays must we endure before we change?