PHILIPPE BERNES-LASSERRE, Johannesburg | Monday
AFTER three months of hearings, a probe into a stampede at a Johannesburg football stadium has heard an astonishing catalogue of errors, omissions and negligence surrounding the death of 43 spectators.
Lack of police co-ordination, security guards taking bribes to allow those without tickets to enter, television cameras blocking ambulances, the spraying of teargas exacerbating panic… the list goes on.
The commission of inquiry into the tragedy at Ellis Park last April, in which a further 160 people were injured, is headed by a judge, but does not have the power to recommend prosecutions, unlike a commission into a similar tragedy in Accra in May in which 126 people died.
The testimony being presented to the commission cannot be used in a court against those making it, but a parallel inquiry by police may lead to prosecutions.
President Thabo Mbeki gave the commission a mandate to shed light on the circumstances of the disaster and to make recommendations to ensure it will be not be repeated.
Judge Bernard Ngoepe, who is chairing the commission, made it clear at the start of the hearings in mid-July that its role was “to understand, not to blame”.
“We are here to find out what happened. If in the process of doing so blame has to be apportioned, then so be it,” he said.
These are some of the errors committed on the night:
The violation of the FIFA rule not to allow a match to begin unless the situation inside the stadium and out is under control. The match was stopped after 30 minutes, by which time 20 people were already dead.
Too many tickets (45 000 of 60 000) were sold on the night of the match, encouraging people to come to the stadium, often from far away and at the last moment, without any guarantee of obtaining a ticket. The presence of between 15 000 and 20 000 people without tickets outside the stadium contributed to the catastrophe.
The absence of a true co-ordinator with the power to manage joint operations for the stadium. Witness accounts indicate the Ellis Park security chief was on the grounds, instead of in the joint operations centre. Instead he left his wife in charge of radio-operations, with her little daughter on her lap. No members of the riot police were present.
An SOS from the approximately 200 police at the stadium, who were overwhelmed, took a long time to raise a response. The first reinforcements came from Soweto township, about 20 kilometres away, and were delayed by traffic and anarchic parking round the stadium.
An ambulance took an hour to reach the wounded on the field because it was blocked by scaffolding set up for television cameras.
Some witnesses said they saw some of the 1 200 private security guards allowing access to people without tickets, for R10 slipped into their hands, when the stadium was already packed.
About 2 000 counterfeit tickets and altered complimentary tickets were sold.
The lack of a clear chain of command between the police, stadium security and organisers on the power to start or stop the match.
The installation of a giant screen outside the stadium to keep those without tickets calm was turned down because of the cost: R35 000.
Some witnesses have testified that teargas – in principle forbidden around the stadium — was sprayed at the time of the stampede. Some directly accused private security guards of having used teargas, adding to the panic.
One of the most sombre witnesses, but also the most lucid, was Trevor Phillips, a former chief executive officer of the Premier Soccer League. He indicated that there would not be a quick-fix solution for the problems of African football.
A world of difference exists between the rules of international football and the realities of African football, he stressed.
It would not be possible to impose the rules of international soccer, in particularly selling only tickets for seats, with no standing room allowed, in Africa, he said.
The commission, which will continue hearing evidence until late November, is expected to hand over its report to Mbeki before the end of the year. – AFP