Police to blame for soccer deaths-report

ACCRA (Reuters) - A Ghanaian panel probing Africa's worst sports disaster recommended a number of policemen be prosecuted for their role in the death of 126 soccer fans at Accra's stadium in May, a panel member has said.
The 70-officer contingent responsible for security during the May 9 match between Hearts of Oak and arch-rivals Asante Kotoko were widely blamed by those at the stadium for setting off a stampede by lobbing teargas into a rowdy crowd.

"Some of the policemen who were at the stadium should face prosecution both for what they did that night and because we suspect that they lied to the commission," said Agyeman Akosa, a member of the five-strong panel, on Saturday

He did not specify how many policemen the panel thought should face legal action and said they had not been named in a final report presented to President John Kufuor on Friday.

A preliminary version of the report released in June blamed poor safety measures for the tragedy but made no direct mention of the police.
Witnesses said at the time that trouble had broken out at the end of the league match, prompting police to fire teargas.
Akosa told Reuters some policemen who gave evidence before the panel said one officer had given them the order to fire teargas.
But the officer in question, though he was at the stadium watching the match, was not on duty that evening and could not have given the order, Akosa said.
"It was obvious they (the policemen) had met and cooked up their evidence to exonerate themselves and implicate one man," he said.
Other irregularities had also emerged and there was conflicting information about the quantity of ammunition, thunder shots and teargas supplied to the police at the stadium.
Kufuor has said all those found guilty will be punished.
The panel recommended structural changes in safety measures at stadia across the country and improvements in emergency services.
Akosa said many of the victims survived the stampede but died later as a result of unprofessional handling of the injured and inadequate emergency medical services such as ambulances.