GAF recruitment restarts in Accra with new safety measures

Recruitment into the Ghana Armed Forces in the Greater Accra Region begins again today, Thursday, November 20, 2025, following last week’s tragic incident at the El Wak Sports Stadium.

The fatal stampede on November 12 claimed the lives of six young applicants and left many others traumatised.

In the days that followed, President John Dramani Mahama called for an immediate suspension of the exercise and a thorough review of how applicants were being managed.

After completing the review, the Ghana Armed Forces says it is returning to the recruitment process with far stricter safety measures.

The new approach is designed to protect applicants and prevent the type of dangerous overcrowding that occurred earlier this month.

A key part of the revised plan is the creation of five separate screening centres across the region.

This is expected to spread out the large numbers of young people hoping to join the military and make the process safer and more orderly.

According to Captain Veronica Adzo Arhin, Director General of Public Affairs at the GAF, the new structure will also tightly control daily attendance. She noted that only 1200 applicants will be screened each day.

“The numbers that will be at El Wak will not be more than 1200 because we are going to have two groups there, each made up of 600 potential recruits,” she said.

The screening will roll out in phases over a minimum of five days. The first stage focuses on verifying applicant information and carrying out basic physical checks.

Officials say the goal is to ensure a smooth and safe process while giving every eligible applicant a fair chance.