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May 9
stadium victims cry for help
By Abdul Salam Sule,
Ghanadot
Accra, May 9, Ghanadot -
Some victims of the May 9
disaster have shockingly revealed that the government had
over the years reneged on its promise of supporting them
with a fund established to cater for them.
The victims made this known today at the conference room of
the Ohene Djan Sports Stadium in Accra when the nation marks
the eighth anniversary of the football disaster which
claimed the life of 127 football fans.
Many people at the conference room had no choice but to shed
tears when eight year old twins gave testimony of their
plight and how their father lost his life through the
disaster on the day they were born.
They recounted that, on the fateful day of May 9th 2001, and
at around 12 noon, their mother gave birth to them at the
absence of their father who had gone to the then Accra
Sports Stadium to watch a football match between Accra
Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko.
"But our father never came back to see our face as he died
at the stadium and we equally did not get the opportunity to
see him", they said amidst crying.
According to the twins, their mother had since encountered
difficulties in providing for their needs and even though
former President Kufour promised to sponsor their education
through the May 9 disaster fund, very little had been
achieved.
They therefore appealed to the current administration under
the leadership of President Mills to use the fund for its
purpose and support the victims of the disaster.
Many of the victims also gave testimony of the hardship they
are going through after the neglect by the former government
and appealed to President Mills to attend to them as a mater
of urgency.
Hon Nii Nortey Dua, depuy Minister of Youth Sports for his
part pledged the commitment of the current administration to
expedite action on releasing the May 9 disaster fund to the
beneficiaries. He also called on football fans and
stakeholders in the management of the game to pool their
resources and rid the game of needless disaster.
It should be noted that, on Wednesday May 9 2001, a game of
football tragically turned into human tragedy as 127 fans
were crushed to death during a titanic premiership tie
between rivals, Accra Hearts Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko.
A group of policemen in their bid to control the irate
Kotoko contingent fatally fired several rounds of tear gas
canisters into the crowd.
Fans of the away team (Kotoko) were protesting a Emmanuel
Osie Kuffour 87th minutes goal- a goal they perceived to
have been scored from the off side position and therefore
vented their spleen on the plastic chairs and hurled them
onto the pitch.
Stunned, the police thought the only way to stop the
destruction was to fire the tear gas. The upshot however
became fatal as it led to a stampede, killing 127 football
fans.
The disaster later came to be known as the worst sporting
disaster in Africa.
Ghanadot
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