BY MBONO MDLULI
MBABANE – His Majesty King Mswati III is saddened by the stampede that happened in Guinea, which resulted in the death of at least 135 people in the West African state.
Through Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini, His Majesty the King expressed hope that God would comfort those affected by the unfortunate incident. “We have learned with great sadness of a stampede in the Republic of Guinea, city of N’Zerekore, where rival fans stormed a football field, which led to the loss of at least 135 lives,” the premier said.
“On behalf of His Majesty the King, Her Majesty the Queen Mother, the Government and the People of Eswatini, we extend our deepest sympathy to the Government and the people of the Republic of Guinea. We pray that the families of all those who have lost their loved ones in this tragedy may be comforted.”
According to the CBS News, the stampede broke out Sunday afternoon (December 1, 2024) at the stadium in the city of Nzerekore during the final of a local tournament between the Labe and Nzerekore teams, in honor of Guinea’s military leader, Mamadi Doumbouya, Guinea’s Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah said on social media. According to local media reports in Guinea, security forces had tried to use tear gas to restore calm after the chaos that followed a disputed penalty.
“This (the disputed penalty) angered supporters who threw stones. This is how the security services used tear gas,” Media Guinea, a local news website, reported. According to Media Guinea, several of those killed were children, while some of the injured being treated at a regional hospital were in critical condition.
CBS News continued to report that videos that appeared to be from the scene showed fans in a section of the stadium shouting and protesting the refereeing before clashes broke out as people poured onto the field. People ran to try to escape from the stadium, many of them jumping a high fence. Other videos showed many people lying on the floor in what looked like a hospital, as a crowd gathered nearby, some assisting the wounded.
An opposition political coalition known as the National Alliance for Alternation and Democracy called for an investigation. It said the tournament had been organized to drum up support for the “illegal and inappropriate” political ambitions of the country’s military leader.
Guinea has been led by the military, since soldiers ousted President Alpha Conde in 2021. It is one of a growing number of West African countries, including Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, where the military has taken power and delayed a return to civilian rule across a region that has become known as Africa’s Coup Belt.
Doumbouya, who ousted the president three years ago, said he was preventing the country from slipping into chaos and chastized the previous government for broken promises. He has, however, been criticized for not meeting the expectations he raised.
