Eleven people, nine spectators and two policemen, died on Saturday evening in a stampede during a concert by Congolese musician Fally Ipupa in the Martyrs stadium, Kinshasa’s largest stadium, Interior Minister Daniel Aselo Okito, implicating the organizers.
The Congolese News Agency (ACP, official), quoting General Sylvano Kasongo, chief of police in Kinshasa, had previously reported eight dead, including a policeman.
Too many people in the stadium, according to the Minister of the Interior
“The human damage is estimated at 11 dead people (…) including two police officers”then told reporters Daniel Aselo, who went there.
The Minister of the Interior offered his condolences to the bereaved families, but also deplored that “human and material damage” are frequently recorded during demonstrations in the Martyrs stadium, 80,000 seats. According to his remarks, broadcast by the news site Actualité.cd, there were too many people inside the stadium. The organizer “went beyond 100%” of his capacity, “he must be punished”, he estimated.
“It’s a scramble” who caused these deaths, “the music lovers were suffocated”, a police officer present Saturday evening in the stadium, which was packed, also told the ACP. Fans of the 44-year-old star, who mixes traditional African harmonies and urban music, thronged “even in the corridors”, according to a witness.
“Despite all the arrangements made for strict compliance with safety instructions, unfortunate and dramatic incidents marred the end of the concert”wrote on his Facebook page Fally Ipupa. “Indeed (…), following some jostling at the exit and around the stadium, compatriots were torn from life”added the singer, saying to himself “deeply appalled”.
According to the Congolese agency, which had a team at the stadium, the police had set up three cordons to secure the lawn, the VIP stand and the podium. But “under the pressure of the crowd, the police could not hold out for long”.
The ACP also noted that Fally Ipupa, “like all Congolese singers”, had arrived several hours after the theoretical start time of the concert.