Commemorating May 9th...When Accra Families Met The Kumasi Families

Life would have been very difficult but for Herbert Mensah as victims of the May 9th Accra sports stadium disaster cries out for support.

Some families of victims of the May 9th Accra sports stadium disaster that resulted in the death of over 120 people have accused government of neglect despite a directive by the Okudzeto committee that investigated the disaster for financial support to the families especially children left behind.

They have however singled out former chief executive officer of the Asante Kotoko, Herbert Mensah for praise for his contribution to their upkeep. According to them 14 years after the disaster that claimed lives after a league match between Accra Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko, the dependents still recounts the pain and anguish they have gone through and wants intervention.

At a special ceremony at Nima organized by Herbert Mensah who is currently the president of the Ghana Rugby Association and sponsors to bring the families of the victims in the greater Accra and the Ashanti region together, Rukaya Alidu who lost two brothers, Ahmed Samadu and Ibrahim Adi said "apart from an amount of three hundred Ghana cedis extended to the family after the disaster nothing has been given to them." 

"I am left to cater for the children of my late brothers and it’s very difficult because we do not know who to contact for the money promised us but I am grateful to Mr. Herbert Mensah for his yearly support," Rukaya added.

Another person who lost his husband in the disaster said she was seven months pregnant when the news was broken to her. According to Maame Bissi, "life has not been the same since that day".

"I was on a hospital bed when my family came for me and when we got home I was told of the disaster and the death of my husband," she added.

Maame Bissi, whose daughter is now 14 years old, said the "government has failed to carry though promise to cater for the education of children of those who lost their lives in the disaster."