The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) is set to resume its 2025/2026 recruitment screening exercise for the Greater Accra Region on Thursday, November 20, 2025, following its suspension due to a tragic stampede. The incident, which occurred on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, at the El-Wak Sports Stadium in Accra, tragically claimed the lives of six young job seekers and left several others injured. The stampede was reportedly caused by an unexpected surge of applicants breaching security protocols before the scheduled screening.

In response to the tragedy, the GAF expressed deep regret and extended its sympathies to the bereaved families. It pledged continued support, including free medical care for the injured at the 37 Military Hospital until their full recovery, and a "special recruitment package" for both the injured and the affected families. To ensure transparency and facilitate an independent investigation into the circumstances of the stampede, the entire Greater Accra recruitment team was replaced. New leadership has been appointed, with Commodore F.A. Nyarko taking over as Director General, Human Resource, Colonel F. Kusi-Darko as Director Manpower, and Colonel G.B. Eduah as Director Information Technology. A Board of Inquiry is currently investigating the incident, with assurances that anyone found culpable will face sanctions.

The resumed screening in Greater Accra will implement new measures to ensure an orderly process, utilizing eight sub-centres across five major locations: El-Wak Stadium (two centres), Nicholson Park at Burma Camp (two centres), the Air Force Base at Burma Camp, the Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) in Teshie (two centres), and the Eastern Naval Command in Tema. Qualified applicants, in batches of 600 persons, will receive an SMS specifying their reporting dates, batches, and designated centres. Applicants who do not receive a message by November 20 are advised to contact the provided helpline or WhatsApp number. To reduce congestion, GAF has strictly cautioned that families and friends should not accompany applicants to the centres, as non-applicants will be denied entry.

Further addressing the nationwide recruitment safety, the Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak, announced a radical restructuring of the security services recruitment process, which is now expected to run until December 19, 2025. This unprecedented logistical response aims to prevent overcrowding by expanding recruitment centres, targeting up to 15 locations per high-demand city, particularly in the Greater Accra Region. The goal is to replace centralized, high-risk screening with a decentralized, managed system, engaging other state institutions to secure large, adaptable venues such as Accra Sports Stadium and Legon Sports Stadium.

A crucial component of the new strategy is a strict daily quota for applicants. Each centre will now operate with a maximum of 1,000 individuals screened per day, further broken down into 500 in the morning session and 500 in the afternoon session. This limitation is a direct safety measure designed to manage external crowds, overriding the perceived capacity of large venues. Additionally, the new plan mandates inter-agency collaboration for effective crowd management, with the Police Service, known for its crowd control expertise, deployed to assist all recruiting agencies, including the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) and GAF, ensuring a unified approach to safety and efficiency.

The tragic incident also drew a strong response from the Trades Union Congress (TUC), which extended its condolences and called for a comprehensive and transparent investigation. The TUC emphasized that the stampede was a