Chiefs, Pirates promise thorough probe into stadium stampede
The scene at FNB Stadium after a stampede left two people dead during the game between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates on Saturday. Picture: Simphiwe Mbokazi/ANA Pictures The scene at FNB Stadium after a stampede left two people dead during the game between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates on Saturday. Picture: Simphiwe Mbokazi/ANA Pictures
Johannesburg – Irvin Khoza and Kaizer Motaung have assured South Africa that “no stone will be left unturned” in the process of investigating what led to the deaths of two fans at the FNB Stadium at the weekend.
Speaking at a hastily organised press conference at the offices of the Premier Soccer League (PSL) in Johannesburg on Monday morning, the bosses of Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs said they were going to instruct the league to try and find out within two weeks “what really happened”.
According to Khosa, one of the two people who died in the stampede has been identified as as Prince Chauke. The other’s name can only be revealed after his family had been informed. The stampede happened just after Chiefs scored the goal that saw them beat their bitter rivals 1-0 to win the pre-season Carling Black Label Champion Cup on Saturday.
Khoza, who is also the chairman of the PSL, said he and Motaung – a member of the PSL executive committee – will recuse themselves from the process lest “we be accused of investigating ourselves”.
“We have written a letter to the league that we will be giving to the CEO immediately after this, hence we decided to hold this conference here,” he said before reading what their requests to the league are.
“One, we ask that the league appoints an independent person of unquestionable integrity to investigate precisely what transpired at the event. Two, that the person be tasked to establish not only the facts, but whether there were any shortcomings with regards to safety and security at the event.
“The person concerned be instructed to obtain all the necessary reports of relevance including from the SAPS, stadium, safety and security, service providers, clubs and the sponsors and do so on an urgent basis.
“That the person concerned is instructed to provide a full report to the (PSL) executive committee within 14 days to ensure that proper assessment can be done as regards the appropriate steps to be taken regarding the matter.
“And in this regard, Mr Irvin Khoza and Mr Kaizer Motaung recuse ourselves from the process.”
Khoza expressed his and Motaung’s deepest condolences to the bereaved families, and assured the public that the match had been played under full compliance with not only the SASREA Act 2 of 2010, but also the Ngoepe Commission’s instructions that came about following the 2001 Ellis Park disaster, in which 41 fans died during a match involving the two clubs.
“The two clubs applied to the league for permission to host that event, and that permission was granted on condition that all legislation was adhered to, in particular the SASREA (Safety at Sports and Recreational Events) Act 2 of 2010,” he said and explained that all the necessary measures were in place.
Khoza mentioned the fact that there was a person appointed by the police commissioner to be in charge of disaster management, the match commissioner as well as someone in charge of the emergency committee to illustrate the great measures that were taken to ensure that all went well.
He explained that it would not have been easy to stop the match, as some people have suggested should have been the case.
“Before we can apportion blame, we need to get all the facts. We are waiting for the reports.
“The sad reality is that we’ve lost lives ,and when whatever incident leads to people dying, it is a tragedy that should make us stop and pause to ensure that there’s never a repeat of such. We learn every day, and we want to avoid these things.”
@Tshiliboy