West Africa News Desk — October 3, 2026 PM

Zach Martin

KMKT IR Hub Radio. West Africa News Desk. Zach Martin with you for the Saturday evening file, October 3, 2026.

Emily Martin

Emily Martin on the other side of the desk. Late-day West Africa, four beats: a stampede at the NPP conference in Kumasi, bail for the Manhyia South MP, a new Black Stars search panel, and the regional file from Bissau to Nigeria.

Zach Martin

KMKT IR Hub Radio. West Africa News Desk. Kumasi first. Delegates were at Baba Yara Sports Stadium for the New Patriotic Party national executive elections.

Emily Martin

GhanaWeb, citing myjoyonline.com, reports a stampede left at least three people injured. They were rushed to Kumasi South Hospital. Others with minor injuries were treated at temporary medical points on the grounds.

Zach Martin

One person reportedly suffered a fracture after some people tried to force through the crowd. Police tightened crowd control. The Ghana National Ambulance Service had trouble moving through the crush to reach the injured.

Emily Martin

Same day, GhanaWeb reports the party approved 14 constitutional amendments. We are not reading a list the evening copy does not pin down line by line. The vote itself is the story: the conference was not only an election day.

Zach Martin

KMKT IR Hub Radio. West Africa News Desk. Accra now. The Accra High Court has granted Manhyia South MP Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah bail of 10 million Ghana cedis, with two sureties.

Emily Martin

Saturday, October 3. Deputy Attorney General Dr Justice Srem-Sai waived the prosecution's right to oppose the application. The MP appeared before Specialised Court 2, sitting at Commercial Court 5 of the High Court Complex.

Zach Martin

He had been in EOCO custody after he voluntarily surrendered on October 1. EOCO is investigating allegations involving criminal conspiracy, financial loss to SIC Savings and Loans, money laundering, and tax-related offences.

Emily Martin

His lawyer, Samuel Atta Akyea, says the transactions under review came from legal services by the firm Sarkodie, Baffour Awuah and Partners to SIC Life Savings and Loans, and he rejects any suggestion of criminal conduct. The MP disputes the allegations.

Zach Martin

EOCO has asked the public not to speculate or draw early conclusions. Investigations continue, and the people involved keep their constitutional rights, including due process. Parliament has condemned the continued detention. That is the political reaction, not a court finding.

Emily Martin

KMKT IR Hub Radio. West Africa News Desk. Sports and the classroom. The Ghana Football Association and the Ministry of Sports and Recreation have named a five-member search committee for a new Black Stars head coach.

Zach Martin

The panel was set up after a meeting in Accra on Friday, October 2. Former GFA vice-president Fred Pappoe chairs it. With him: Anthony Baffoe, general secretary of the Professional Footballers Association of Ghana and a former international; lawyer and football administrator Agbesi Dzakpasu; former captain Stephen Appiah; and high-performance specialist Faisal Chibsah.

Emily Martin

They identify and assess candidates, then recommend to the GFA. The post opened on Thursday, October 1, when Carlos Queiroz resigned after the September window. The GFA and the ministry say the process will be transparent and based on merit.

Zach Martin

And a short public-service beat. GhanaWeb reports the government has pledged to pay teachers' promotion arrears by October 30. No figure is attached to that pledge in the copy we are using, so we will not invent one.

Emily Martin

KMKT IR Hub Radio. West Africa News Desk. Outside Ghana. Guinea-Bissau's military high command has blocked exiled former president Umaro Sissoco Embaló from a planned return on October 4.

Zach Martin

Morocco World News reports the junta said the necessary security conditions were not in place. He has been in Morocco since the army took power in November 2025. He told AFP he would come home and run in the presidential election set for December 6. Supporters had planned a short visit on Sunday. The high command said the block was about public order and social stability.

Emily Martin

Nigeria's private-sector survey, not a forecast and not advice. Stanbic IBTC Bank and S&P Global put the September PMI at 56.4, up from 54.3 in August, the strongest reading since February 2022. Data were collected from September 10 to September 28. New orders and output rose at the fastest pace since February 2022. Employment rose for a sixteenth month, but job creation stayed modest. Input-cost inflation hit a three-month high, driven by fuel, food, and raw materials.

Zach Martin

The Rio Times Saturday brief listed the Ghana Stock Exchange at 14,568, down 2.15 percent, and the official dollar-naira rate at 1,359, down 0.08 percent. Those are reported closes, not a recommendation. And GhanaWeb says President Mahama is due to deliver a keynote at the Alamein Africa Forum in Egypt.

Emily Martin

That is the evening desk. Kumasi injuries and a party rule change. Bail in Accra, with the investigation still open. A five-name search for the Black Stars, and a date on teacher arrears. Bissau keeping Embaló out, and a stronger Nigeria PMI with costs still rising.

Zach Martin

KMKT IR Hub Radio. West Africa News Desk. Zach Martin and Emily Martin, Saturday evening, October 3, 2026. We will be back on the next file.