Last updated on January 15th, 2024 at 11:08 am
Eleven people died on Saturday night during a riot at the largest stadium in the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The riot broke out during a concert by the African superstar Fally Ipupa.
The country’s Interior Minister, Daniel Aselo Okito, issued a statement on Sunday pointing the finger of blame at the event’s organizers. At the Martyrs’ performance in Kinshasa’s stadium, eleven people, nine of whom were music fans and two of whom were police officers, were killed.
As the mob pushed their way into the reserved and VIP sections, the Minister stated that the stadium “reached above 100% capacity” of 80,000 people. He said he didn’t like how these kinds of events often lead to “loss of human life and damage to equipment” and that the people who put them on “must be punished.”
The official Congolese Press Agency, ACP, received confirmation of the occurrence from a police officer who was present at the time. The officer stated that “it was a rush” that resulted in the deaths of the people. The ACP said that the police had cordoned off three zones, which included the VIP stand, the pitch, and the stage. However, the ACP noted, “Under the strain of the crowd, the police were unable to hold out for very long.”
The singer-songwriter, who is 44 years old, claims that he woke up from his performance on Sunday morning to find out about the killings after hearing the news about them. It hurts my feelings. Fally Ipupa said, “I was born and raised in Kinshasa, so of course I feel bad for the families who have lost loved ones.”
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Ipupa wrote on Facebook, “Following what we accomplished together yesterday, I had intended for today to send a message of joy and satisfaction beyond the atrocities that our dear country is going through.” Ipupa’s post was deleted shortly after it was posted. Even though every effort had been made to make sure the safety rules were followed to the letter, a number of unfortunate and dramatic things happened toward the end of the concert.
“In point of fact, it would appear from the evidence that we have at our disposal that after some commotion at the exit and around the stadium, fellow countrymen were kidnapped alive. My heart is breaking for all of the families, and please accept my sincere condolences. The hearts of those who have lost loved ones may find solace in God’s unfathomable mercy.”
In the year 2020, the Gare de Lyon train station in Paris, France, had to be evacuated because people set fires in the area right before Fally Ipupa was supposed to perform at a concert.
