Stadium Disaster Trial Adjourned

The trial of six police officers indicted in the May 9 stadium disaster has been adjourned to next Monday February 10. The officers face life prison terms if they are found guilty of the offence in what is considered a landmark case. The officers were cited in the government white paper on the Accra stadium disaster as being primarily responsible for the tragedy, which killed 126 fans.

Yoni Kulendi who is part of the legal team for the accused told JoyNews that the trial had to be adjourned because the original date set did not fall within the period for the hearing of serious criminal offences including manslaughter.

The police were heavily criticized for the disaster, which occurred during a league match between archrivals Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko. After Ishmael Addo had given Hearts the a late lead in the 2-1 win over Kotoko, plastic chairs started flying down from the north end of the stadium.

The police in a bid to curb the violence responded by firing tear gas into the crowd. It caused a stampede in which scores of people suffered horrific injuries as they fell down stairs and were crushed in passageways.