Ning’ang’a denies he is fired as Bingu Stadium manager
Bingu National Stadium manager Eric Ning’ang’a has denied reports that he has been fired following a stadium stampede on Thursday which left eight people dead. Ning’ang’a said he was not part of the organising committee which ordered that gates at the stadium open at 10am instead of 6am.
“I was just the host, I was not the organiser of the event so why should I be fired? We were not even manning the gates,” said Ning’ang’a.
He said next time there should be coordination between the stadium officials and organising committee to avert such disasters.
“Parents should also take the responsibility. When there are events of such magnitude, they should not let children enter the stadium alone, they need to check where their children are,” said the stadium manager.
Ning’ang’a said he personally advised the committee to open the gates at six in the morning but this was rejected.
“They told me what would people be doing in the stadium from six when a football match was in the afternoon,” he said.
Government spokesperson Nicholas Dausi said the government would want to get to the bottom of the whole issue to know what caused the stampede.
“Cabinet ministers who went to the funerals would be giving their reports very soon, we will get reports from other government agencies, thereafter we would know exactly what happened,” he said.
A preliminary police report suggest the stampede was as a result of late opening of the stadium gates.
Leader of Opposition in parliament Lazarus Chakwera has since called for a commission of inquiry.
