Four persons died yesterday during a stampede when thousands of persons struggled for a brand new version of Prophet Temitope Balogun (TB) Joshua’s anointing water.
Fifteen others sustained various degrees of injuries and were receiving treatment in the city’s hospitals.
The incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday at TB Joshua’s Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) on the Spintex Road in Accra where thousands had converged since Saturday evening upon hearing that there was going to be free anointing water, even as the gate of the spiritual facility was shut.
There was a heavy build-up of persons who had been waiting close to the gates of the synagogue because it was shut.
When the gate was flung open eventually, all hell broke loose, and people were trampled upon as a result of the stampede.
One of the ambulance vans conveying victims of the stampede to the hospital yesterday
It was a scramble by all and survival of the fittest, as the waiting sea of heads surged into the compound to form a long queue.
Stampede eventually reared its ugly head with a resultant loss of lives, as already exhausted persons collapsed, with some of them giving up the ghost even before making it to the hospital.
The remains of the deceased had been distributed between the 37 Military Hospital and the Police Hospital morgues for autopsy.
All Churches Affair
When news about the free distribution of the highly-sought after and spiritually enriched TB Joshua anointing water spread, thousands trooped to the Spintex Road location of the synagogue, creating a security nightmare for the police.
Commuters heading to and from Tema as well as residents using that corridor of the road were terribly inconvenienced as a result of the vehicular build-up along the Spintex Road where there was a marked security presence, with police and military personnel frantically trying hard to control traffic.
The thousands of holy water seekers were not limited to members of the synagogue but others from different denominations who needed the spiritual intervention badly to solve their worldly predicaments.
An announcement had purportedly been made earlier about a free distribution of the water to run from now till the end of June.
TB Joshua’s Order
Ironically, at the time the stampede took place, the Man of God was being telecast live on his Emmanuel TV channel from his Ikotun Egbe, Lagos headquarters of SCOAN.
Upon hearing about the tragedy, he reportedly ordered the cessation of the programme. The distribution was therefore halted at about 8:00am yesterday.
One of the hands in the synagogue told DAILY GUIDE, “Those who were sitting outside received false news that we had started distributing the water, so they all started rushing in through the small gate.
“Unfortunately, some people fell in the process and they were trampled upon by others. I counted about six people who were motionless, and were being carried into the ambulances and I pray they get better,” he added.
What happened thereafter compounded the traffic logjam which featured on the Spintex Road, as disappointed persons turned to trekking home because of the non-availability of vehicles to transport them to various parts of the city and beyond.
The road immediately turned into a long line of human traffic snaking towards the Accra Shopping Hall.
Stressed Motorists
Stressed motorists followed on the heels occasionally honking their horns to see whether that would help them increase their speed, but that was not to be.
In an interview with DAILY GUIDE, the Accra Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police Christian Tetteh Yohuno said two people—a man and a woman—had been confirmed dead at the Police Hospital with two other men also dead at the 37 Military Hospital.
“Several others who were transported from the scene are currently on admission at the Police Hospital and 37 Military Hospital, and are being treated for fracture and other medical challenges. Our investigators and crime scene teams are there to investigate the whole thing,” DCOP Yohuno stated.
He noted that initially, the Ghana Police Service, upon request by the church, deployed some 30 personnel to help them coordinate their normal Sunday service.
“But when we heard of the overwhelming crowd and the mad rush for the anointing water, we had to beef up our security detail to about 100 personnel.”
Normalcy, he said, had been restored since the accident.
Church’s Denial
A member of the church’s public relations team, Reverend Samuel Mac-Canaah insisted that the church did not announce free distribution of the anointing water and that those who turned up did so through unfounded speculation.
Although the church had plans to distribute anointing water, a date for the exercise was yet to be decided upon.
The Police and the Ambulance Service had to be called in when it was discovered that many people were frail and exhausted in the face of a raging commotion.
Fortnight Ago
A fortnight or so ago policemen were drafted to the same venue when the man of God was said to have come to Ghana for a deliverance campaign.
It did not happen and those who turned up, in their thousands, had to contend with TB Joshua’s three wise men’s spiritual performance.
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