When something people want is suddenly offered far below its normal price, and stock is limited, large numbers will show up early and push hard.

This is not unique to Ghana or to poverty. Such promos have repeatedly produced chaos in New York, Los Angeles, Texas, London and other Western cities. The behaviour is human, not cultural. Naturally people love free things – Black or White.

In November 2017 (Black Friday), a panic and stampede occurred around Oxford Circus / Oxford Street in central London.

In L. A. a woman used pepper spray on other shoppers competing for discounted Xbox consoles at a Walmart, injuring around 20 people.

In New York, a crowd of roughly 2,000 people waiting outside a Walmart broke through the doors at opening time. Employee Jdimytai Damour was knocked down and trampled to death. Shoppers continued pouring in even as attempts were made to help him. A pregnant woman and others were also injured.

On 15 August 2026, KFC Ghana’s 15th-anniversary promotion offered one piece of chicken, tenders and small chips for GH¢15, triggering overcrowding, long queues from as early as 7 a.m.

For many people it represented a rare chance at a treat that has become expensive. When hundreds or thousands are willing to wait for hours, risk physical jostling, and accept chaotic conditions for a single discounted meal, it is a clear indicator of constrained disposable income.

The chaotic scenes in Ashaiman at a KFC joint didn’t surprise me. What surprised me was the company’s operational failure.

A company ran a nationwide, heavily advertised one-day deal with insufficient crowd-control planning. That is a marketing or operations mismatch, not solely an economic story.

Companies that run “too-good-to-miss” promotions must treat them as high-risk events, not ordinary sales days.

KFC’s anniversary deal was excellent marketing. The crowd control was not. The same pattern appears in many Black Friday disasters. The advertising works, the doors and staffing do not.

Staff and customers both deserve protection. Trampling, broken glass, and security using force are failures of planning, not inevitable features of “eager shoppers.” The 2008 Walmart death in New York and the injuries in London and elsewhere show the same principle applies in wealthy countries.

KFC still carries aspirational value for many Ghanaians, just as limited electronics or appliances do in the West. When that status is suddenly made accessible at a low price, the emotional pull is powerful. Understanding this helps both businesses and governments design better systems instead of being repeatedly surprised.

Ras Mubarak,
Istanbul, Turkiye.
August 16, 2026.