Fally Ipupa’s Concert In DR Congo Record 11 Stampede Death
The interior minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo stated on Sunday that a stampede during a packed concert by African music icon Fally Ipupa at the largest stadium in the country’s capital left nine spectators and two police officers dead and blamed the organizers.
Interior Minister Daniel Aselo Okito told the news website Actualite.cd that on Saturday night, too many people had been let into the Martyrs’ stadium in Kinshasa, which can hold 80,000 people.
The minister sent condolences to the victims’ families and stated to reporters at the stadium, “Eleven persons killed… including two police.”
He lamented the regular “loss of human life and equipment damage” at stadium events.
The minister declared that the organizers “went past 100% capacity… they must be penalized.”
According to a policeman on the site who spoke to the official Congolese Press Agency ACP, “It was a stampede” that resulted in the deaths.
The music enthusiasts “suffocated.”
General Sylvain Sasongo, the head of the Kinshasa police, had previously informed ACP that nine people had perished, amid allegations that the stadium was packed to capacity for the performance of the hometown favorite. One witness claimed that “even the halls” of the stadium were overflowing.
The stage, the VIP stand, and the pitch were all cordoned off by police, according to ACP, which had reporters monitoring the concert inside the stadium.
The police could not withstand the crowd’s pressure for very long, according to ACP.
According to the agency, singer-songwriter Fally Ipupa arrived after the event had already started, “like many Congolese singers.”
One of Africa’s top musicians, the 44-year-old Kinshasa native sells his albums all over the world.
