There has been a deadly stampede at the El-Wak Sports Stadium in Accra during a scheduled military recruitment for personnel seeking to join the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF).
Videos widely shared on social media have captured how hundreds of potential recruits thronged the screening centre at dawn on November 12, 2025. Other viral clips showed what appeared to be congestion in and outside the stadium, including a video that showed some recruits trying to climb a wall.
The casualty figures, especially the number of deaths, became the subject of some misinformation, prompting a rebuttal from the military high command.
In this ‘what we know so far’ piece, we trace the genesis of the misinformation about the number of deaths and also provide a trajectory of major events that have happened since the incident was announced.
Key facts about the exercise
According to a report by the state-owned Daily Graphic, the Armed Forces on November 9, 2025, confirmed that its recruitment screening process was scheduled to take place over two days. Some other key facts of their statement were as follows:
- Tasks to be undertaken – documentation and body selection for all shortlisted applicants, slated to take place between November 12 and 13.
- The first phase of the recruitment exercise began on October 1, 2025, and ended on November 7, via a dedicated online application portal.
- Nationwide exercise – The 2025 recruitment sought qualified applicants across 16 regions as part of plans to recruit 12,000 personnel into the Ghana Armed Forces within the next three and a half years.
- Height requirements specify a minimum of 1.68 metres for males and 1.57 metres for females. Candidates applying for positions in the Military Police must meet stricter height standards of 1.75 metres for males and 1.70 metres for females.
- The body selection stage, also referred to as attestation, involves final physical examinations and verification of documents. Successful applicants are required to present their application summary reports, original educational certificates, and birth certificates.
Misinformation around deaths
Two prominent media houses, Channel One TV and GhanaWeb, reported a doubling of the casualty figures at a time when the known figure stood at six deaths.
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While GhanaWeb reported the 12 deaths, citing a Channel One TV report, GhanaFact observed that both outlets had corrected the figures, each reverting to the six deaths with a supporting paragraph in their respective stories that there were earlier reports that the deaths had risen to 12.
Military reacts to misreportage on death toll
In an interview with the press at the 37 Military Hospital, where casualties were sent, the commander of the Hospital clarified,
“There is erroneous information going out. The casualties we have that came through were 28 in number. Those who are dead are six and not 12. Those who are critical and in the ICU are five. We have 12 who are fairly critical, the rest are stable,” Brigadier General Evelyn Vivian Abraham-Kwabiah said.
The acting Director General of Public Relations, Evelyn Ntiamoah Asamoah, subsequently protested to the Citi TV journalist present about the misreportage.
Citi FM’s X stream of President John Dramani Mahama’s visit to the 37 Military Hospital had a caption with 12 casualties, while GhanaWeb also shared the same claim on Facebook, both shared before the military disclaimer.
“Some 12 persons have been confirmed dead, while waiting to go through the process (of recruitment)…” the Citi Reporter had stated at the beginning of the stream.
What the Army has said
According to an official press release issued by the Ghana Armed Forces, “Preliminary investigations indicate that the stampede was triggered by an unexpected surge of applicants who breached security protocols and rushed into the gates ahead of scheduled screening at about 0620 hours.”
Other key details in the statement were as follows:
- Confirmed number of deaths was six, and many others were injured
- The injured were receiving care at the 37 Military Hospital
- Medical teams are working to stabilise casualties
- Arrangements are being made to notify families of the deceased
Recruitment process suspended in Greater Accra
According to a follow-up statement released by the military, the recruitment process has been temporarily suspended in the Greater Accra Region due to the fatal incident. Applicants will be informed of the date of resumption.
Key information in the statement
- This suspension is to allow for additional measures to ensure a seamless exercise.
- A board of inquiry has been constituted to unravel the circumstances that led to the incident
- The process in the other 15 regions will continue as scheduled
President Mahama visits injured applicants
President John Dramani Mahama, Commander-In-Chief of the GAF, hours after the incident visited injured persons receiving treatment at the 37 Military Hospital.
Videos shared by media houses showed him receiving a briefing from the Acting Defence Minister, Cassiel Ato Forson, Deputy Defence Minister, Brogya Genfi and other top military officials, including army chiefs.
President Mahama subsequently visited the Trauma and Medical Emergency Unit at the hospital to interact with some of the injured persons.
The President, however, did not speak to the media at the hospital but exited the hospital just when the military had clarified the death toll as well as briefed the press on further developments.
President Mahama speaks about the incident
During his address at the official launch of the Nkoko Nketenkete programme in Kumasi, President Mahama formally confirmed the casualties and stated that he had directed the suspension of the recruitment exercise.
“In previous years, recruitment for the armed forces was handled privately. Before the 2024 election, I promised that, upon coming into power, we would announce applications publicly, offering youth from all regions an opportunity to apply.
“We opened the online portal as promised, and a large number of young people submitted applications. Today was the scheduled date for the nationwide physical screening exercises,” he said.
“True to our word, we opened the recruitment portal, and many young people applied. Today was scheduled for the nationwide screening exercise, and every region was taking part. Because Accra is the capital, the number of applicants was very large. When the gates were opened, many people rushed in, forcing entry. Unfortunately, in the process, some individuals fell and were stamped on.
“As we speak, we have been informed that six people have died and twelve are critically injured. We pray for their recovery. We have been informed by the Army of six dead individuals, who are all females.
“Additionally, a similar situation occurred in Kumasi, leaving one person critically injured and receiving treatment. We pray for a full recovery. Due to this tragic incident, I have ordered the Army to suspend the recruitment exercise immediately,” he added.
Acting Defence minister addresses Parliament
The Acting Defence Minister, Cassiel Ato Forson, addressed Parliament via an urgent statement on the fatal incident, confirming casualties and measures being put in place.
“Right Honourable Speaker, the Ministry of Defence deeply mourns the loss of life and extends condolences to the affected families. We are working closely with the Ghana 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 said.
Additionally, lawmakers on both sides of Parliament made submissions on the incident, expressing their condolences and suggesting measures for a better process.
Parliament sympathises with the injured
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, subsequently led a parliamentary delegation on a visit to the injured at the 37 Military Hospital.
While sympathising with the casualties and their families, Speaker Bagbin announced that an amount of 100,000 cedis had been donated by Parliament to support their treatment.
Presidency debunks fake resignation of Deputy Defence Minister
In the latter part of the day, a statement was circulated on social media claiming that President Mahama had accepted the resignation of Deputy Minister for Defence, Brogya Genfi.
A Facebook user who shared the supposed resignation notice captioned it: “I’m surprised a Ghanaian politician can be this competent and selfless. This can only be fake, cos anka how?”
The letter, which had the official letterhead of the Presidency and was purportedly signed by the Government spokesperson, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, stated in parts: “The Presidency confirms the receipt and immediate acceptance of the resignation of the Deputy Minister for Defence, Honourable Brogya Genfi…
“The Deputy Minister cited the unfortunate and tragic events of this morning, the stampede during the Ghana Armed Forces recruitment exercise at the El-Wak Sports Stadium, as the basis for his decision to step down from his post,” it added.
Among those who reacted to the alleged resignation letter was Kofi Bentil, the Senior Vice President of IMANI Africa, who wrote on Facebook: “We often say in Ghana no one takes responsibility and no one resigns when things go bad. Today, that changed. I’m impressed Brogya Gyenfi has resigned over the El-Wak mess!! Maybe this starts a virtuous cycle. Let me remove my tongue from my cheek and find some banku and eat.”
However, the presidency swiftly debunked the claim, labelling the circulating letter as ‘FAKE’ via a Facebook post.
Social media reactions and sentiments
On social media platforms, videos and images circulated widely within hours of the incident. The posts, shared by bloggers, media outlets and members of the public, went from lamenting the unemployment situation in the country, citing the long queues at the El-Wak Stadium.
Shortly after the incident was reported, users across platforms shared videos adding emotional captions, ranging from grief and anger to frustration over crowd management and unemployment pressures.
On X, a post of the video generated comments such as: “Oh, Ghana. All this because he or she wants to serve their nation.” “This is so sad; no one deserves to die in their quest to find a job.”
Another wrote: “Charley, this is terribly sad. I don’t know who to blame,…crowd control in Ghana is a problem on its own. Human beings just wait, follow the queue, and enter, wahala. It’s like we don’t trust the system, so we try to help it, and it ends up killing us. RIP.”
On Facebook, videos shared by UTV Ghana and GhanaWeb showed crowded scenes as potential recruits struggled to climb a wall at the venue, ostensibly to escape the overcrowding situation escalating outside the stadium.
What the Google Trends said
GhanaFact used Google Trends data to analyse online conversations. Google Trends is a free tool which analyses the popularity of search terms on Google, showing how interest in a topic changes over time and across different regions.
It uses a scale of 0-100, where 100 represents the peak popularity for a term, and provides insights into what people are searching for to help with tasks like content creation, marketing, and research.
From the data analysed, we found the following:
- The word stampede was the most used keyword, peaking at a point.
- Recruitment, military and the Ghana Armed Forces followed in that order
- By the next day (November 12), recruitment as a keyword was the most used word
Price of recruitment forms – GH¢350 vs. GH¢200
In the midst of the outrage around the death and the circumstances leading to it, a claim about the impropriety of the military charging fees for persons seeking to join the force gained significant traction.
A Sports journalist, Saddick Adams, posted on his X and Facebook pages that charging GH¢350 for recruitment forms was wrong and that such sums refunded in the instant case. Afia Pokuaa, another journalist, made similar claims on her TV programme.
“Why on earth is the Ghana Military selling forms, at GHS 350, to persons wanting to serve in the army? What is the rationale?” part of his November 12, 2025, post on X stated.
“Only a wicked country will charge their jobless youth GHC 350 for military forms. We’ve intentionally broken the system,” Afia Pokuaa posted on Facebook. The November 12 post had attracted over 3,300 comments and 190 shares.
We fact-checked.
GhanaFact referred to the recruitment section of the military website, where the four-step procedures involved in the recruitment are displayed.
The first section, subtitled ‘GETTING STARTED’, has six points, the first of which reads: “Acquire an Electronic Voucher at TWO HUNDRED GHANA CEDIS (GH₵200.00) from the following designated Post Offices.”
GhanaFact also found a publication of the recruitment notice in the state-owned Daily Graphic newspaper. It also stated that the cost of the voucher that allowed recruits to apply to join the army was 200 cedis, not 350 cedis.
Verdict
From the above, the forms were sold at 200 Ghana cedis, and not 350 Ghana cedis.
NB: This script has been updated with portions on social media sentiments, price of recruitment voucher and data from Google Trends.
