Presidential probe tallies with police, blames organizers

A report by a taskforce President Peter Mutharika appointed to probe the July 6 stampede in which eight people died has blamed the incident on negligence by organisers and managers of the event.

The report agrees with another one the Malawi Police Service (MPS) released earlier which also blamed organisers of the event for the deaths and injuries.

The report, which the task force presented to Mutharika at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe yesterday, says if the people entering the stadium were well managed by letting them queue and had the gates been opened much earlier, the incident could have been avoided.

Reads the report in part: “While the main organising committee existed at the top planning level, there was no lead person or organisation on the ground at Bingu National Stadium [BNS] to effectively coordinate the various players and make overarching and interagency wide decisions on the spot.

“The staff of the Department of Sports, the police and BNS staff associated with the opening of the gates and management of the crowd was not clear as to who was the overall in charge. Each group worked within their silo and in accordance with own set rules.”

According to the report, the police just opened the gates on the outer perimeter fence and did not ensure that the people continued to queue on the inner fence which increased the probability of the stampede as everyone wanted to be in front of the other.

The task force also found out that the first aid team organised by the Lilongwe District Health Office (DHO) was inadequate as, although there were supposed to be two teams, there was only one-six man team of first aiders comprising two nurses, one anaesthetist, one clinical officer and two support staff.

Chairperson of the task force, who is also Principal Secretary for Administration in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Zangazanga Chikhosi,said the negligence was not only on the part of the officials involved in the event management, security and other areas but also even parents whose children went to the event unattended.

He said: “The task force finds that many children attending such a huge event of almost 40 000 people unaccompanied constituted a huge risk for them. This was negligence of the highest order by parents or guardians.”

According to Chikhosi, the Child Care, Protection and Justice Act of the laws of Malawi places the responsibility on parents and guardians to ensure that children are protected at all times.

The report has also indicated that although the BNS has facilities such as a clinic, closed circuit television (CCTV)  system and a fire fighting system, they are currently not operational, a situation which put lives of those using the stadium at risk.

Speaking when he received the report, Mutharika said he will act appropriately on any evidence of wrongdoing or an act deserving blame that led to the tragedy.

“Wherever there is evidence of culpability or wrongdoing, the Ministry of Justice and the Attorney General will make appropriate recommendations and action will be taken,” he said.

Eight people, including children, died at BNS on July 6 when they tried to enter the stadium for the country’s 53rd independence celebrations.

Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development Joseph Mwanamvekha chaired the organising committee. n