One of the deceased has been confirmed as Prince Chauke while the second’s name is yet to be released as the families are yet to be contacted following the ugly incident that also left several people injured.
Addressing a press conference this morning Pirates boss Dr. Irvin Khoza read out a statement which was endorsed by his counterpart at Chiefs, Kaizer Motaung, with a letter due to be handed to the acting PSL CEO Mato Madlala.
“Nobody goes to a soccer match to die. It is a tragic that we must try and ensure is never repeated,” said Khoza.
“As the two chairmen we have sat down to deliberate on this matter and have decided that we will serve a letter to the CEO of the league. Nothing that we do or say can bring back the supporters that died and the impact that this will have on their families. With circumstances like this it is imperative that we do everything possible to make sure that we understand precisely what happened. Whether there were any illegals or other shortcomings at the event that led to the tragic death of supporters or whether there were any additional steps that could have been taken to avoid what happened.
“It is important that we take all the necessary steps to establish the facts immediately before time passes and evidence and witnesses are lost or memories fade. Both Pirates and Chiefs are determined to ensure that this is done effectively and properly. We do not believe it will be appropriate for one of those clubs to arrange or conduct the investigations. It must be clear that the investigation will be independent and impartial. The league’s objectives include the promotion, administration, control and governance of all professional football in the country and in particular safety. It seems appropriate and essential to us that there is clear independence in the process of establishing the facts and that the league should oversee such an investigation,” stated the Pirates boss adding that they will also be making proposals with regards to this matter.
Khoza also revealed that they are hoping that the person appointed to handle this investigation provides the full report within a fortnight.
“We consequently propose that this be submitted to the members of the executive committee as a matter of urgency. That the league appoints an independent person of unquestionable integrity to investigate precisely what transpired at the event. That the person caters to establish not only the facts but also whether there were any shortcomings with regards to security and safety at the event.
“That the person concerned be instructed to obtain all the necessary reports of relevance. That the person concerned be instructed to provide the full report to the executive committee within 14 days to ensure that a proper assessment can be made as the appropriate steps to be taken relating to the matter. In this regard both l, Dr Irvin Khoza and Mr Kaizer Motaung exclude ourselves from this process. In our view the most appropriate person to conduct such an investigation should be an eminent senior counsel. As we have said both clubs undertake to help with the investigations. We have no doubt that all role players will do the same. We are gathering information so that we leave no stone unturned because this is a sensitive matter,” explained Khoza.
Motaung then noted that families of the deceased will be engaged while reiterating that they were moving aside as clubs to avoid a situation that could be aligned to ‘investigating themselves’.
“We are also contemplating holding a memorial service as and when we get information on the other person who has not been disclosed to us. We felt that it is important that we take ourselves out of this so that we are not accused of investigating ourselves but rather take it to the right forum, which is the league in this case to deal with it in an appropriate manner and that we gather all the necessary facts before we make any further statements regarding this incident,” added Motaung.
Plenty of those that had been admitted to various hospitals have since been discharged.