The Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II received members of the May 9 Foundation and children who survived hole-in-heart disease on May 10, 2026, in a palace audience that fused royal celebration, national grief, and humanitarian milestone in one moment at Manhyia.
The occasion carried exceptional weight. It fell on the 25th anniversary of the May 9, 2001 Accra Sports Stadium disaster, which claimed the lives of more than 126 football fans during a league match between Asante Kotoko and Accra Hearts of Oak. It also coincided with the Asantehene’s 76th birthday celebrations, observed earlier that week on May 6 in keeping with Asante custom. The convergence turned a routine courtesy visit into something altogether more significant.
Herbert Mensah, President of the May 9 Foundation, led the delegation. Mensah, who served as Chairman of Asante Kotoko at the time of the 2001 disaster, has kept the annual commemoration alive for a quarter of a century through charitable work and advocacy. He also serves as Secretary to the Shen Yang and Shen Yuet Children’s Heart Foundation, a humanitarian body that funds cardiac surgeries for Ghanaian children whose families cannot bear the cost.
The two foundations have worked together to sponsor surgeries at the National Cardiothoracic Centre at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. To date, 117 children have undergone successful procedures under the programme over the past two years.
“Each surgery costs between $6,000 and $14,000,” Mensah disclosed to the Asantehene, adding that all costs are covered fully by the Shen Yang and Shen Yuet Children’s Heart Foundation.
The foundation is the creation of Y.C. Shen, Chairman of the SUNDA International Group of Companies, which operates across Ghana and several African countries. It takes its name from Shen Yang, a 17-year-old hole-in-heart survivor, and his brother Shen Yuet. Mensah told Otumfuo the foundation plans to continue supporting between 20 and 30 surgeries per year over the next decade, representing a commitment of close to $2 million in medical funding.
The delegation that gathered at Manhyia Palace also included Erica Amoako, Administrator of the Shen Yang and Shen Yuet Children’s Heart Foundation; Jacky Chan, Managing Director of SUNDA in the Ashanti Region; Rafatu Inusah, President of Ghana Rugby; and coordinators King Edward, Joseph Chester Annie, and Sacut Amenga-Etego.
Otumfuo praised Mensah for sustaining the memory of the victims across 25 years and for redirecting the tragedy’s grief into practical compassion for vulnerable children. He encouraged the team to continue expanding the reach of the programme and challenged others to follow their example.
The story of the May 9 Foundation carries a dimension that goes beyond philanthropy. What began as a personal response to one of Africa’s deadliest stadium disasters has grown into a structure that bridges communities, nationalities, and sectors — connecting a stadium catastrophe in Accra to a cardiac theatre in Korle Bu, and drawing a line from loss to life.
