The policemen at the center of the Accra Sports Stadium Disaster of May 9, 2001 are to be put before court on provisional charges of murder and manslaughter.
A Government White Paper on the Okudzeto Commission sighted by the “Public Agenda”, holds the policemen culpable for the tragedy which claimed 126 lives and injured over 300 other spectators during the fourth week league match between arch rivals Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko.
The White Paper slammed police response to acts of hooliganism by a section of the crowd at the North Stand of the stadium, saying Police action was rather intended to punish than control the rioters.
It descended heavily on police witnesses who openly lied about their roles and those of their colleagues to mislead the Commission.
The White Paper endorsed the commission's recommendations that a series of training programmes should be organized for the police to equip them to deal with flash-points not only at the various stadia but in all aspects of the country’s social life.
With immediate effect, policemen who are not assigned duties would no more be allowed entry into any of the stadia throughout the country.
The management style of Enoch Teye Mensah, former Minister of Youth and Sports as the political head of sports promotion in the regime of ex-President Jerry John Rawlings, also came under criticism.
The White paper also endorsed the findings of the Commission, which established that the over-bearing presence of the former Minister intimidated officials of the National Sports Council to the extent that most of them shied away from taking major decisions on their own.
One casualty of this perceived timidity is the Acting Chief Executive of the Sports Council Brigadier George Brock. The white paper also recommends that the army officer be dismissed from his post with immediate effect.
The Government wondered why clubs using facilities provided by the Sports Council for league matches paid only a pittance of gate proceeds towards the maintenance of the facilities.
To this end, the White Paper ordered a review of the share of the proceeds of the Sports Council at football matches.
The Government also view facilities provided by the Accra Sports Stadium for major sporting events as woefully inadequate.
The White paper condemned the quality of chairs installed at the Accra Sports Stadium. The plastic seats are brittle and easily torn apart. A thorough examination has also been ordered to establish their suitability, or otherwise to accommodate sports fans
