Mahama Visits Injured Recruits at 37 Military Hospital in Wake of Deadly El-Wak Stampede
President John Dramani Mahama made a heartfelt stop at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra today to comfort young job seekers hurt in the morning’s tragic stampede at El-Wak Sports Stadium during the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) recruitment drive.
Joined by Acting Defence Minister Cassiel Ato Forson, Chief of Defence Staff Lt. Gen. Thomas Oppong-Peprah, and other top officials, Mahama toured the emergency ward, got updates from medical staff on patient statuses, and personally checked in on the victims—many of them women chasing a shot at military service.
The commander of the hospital, Brig. Gen. Evelyn Vivian Abraham-Kwabiah, briefed the President on the grim toll: Six confirmed deaths—all prospective female recruits—and 28 people treated, including five in intensive care and 12 in critical condition.
GAF has stuck to that figure, brushing off rumors of 12 fatalities as misinformation.
Eyewitness videos and social media clips show Mahama engaging quietly with staff and families, a gesture that’s resonated online as a show of leadership amid national shock.
The visit wrapped up swiftly before Mahama jetted to Kumasi for the Nkoko Nkitinkiti Poultry Initiative launch, where he publicly ordered a full halt to the Accra recruitment and demanded probes into the chaos.
The stampede hit around 6 a.m. when thousands breached barriers in a desperate rush, underscoring Ghana’s youth unemployment woes—many see the military as a golden ticket out.
GAF’s Board of Inquiry is already underway, with the Greater Accra process paused for safety upgrades while other regions proceed.
