Botswana government issues warning after concert death, violence

University of Botswana student Nametso Bogopa, 20, was crushed to death in a stampede when a large crowd of people forced their way inside the Botswana National Stadium where Mafikizolo, Cassper Nyovest and Prince Kaybee were performing.

Prior to warning the promoters, the Botswanan government had declared a ban on concerts at the National Stadium via a memo signed by the office of the president.

In a U-turn yesterday, Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Culture Development Thapelo Olopeng told members of the media that all concerts that had already been booked for the Botswana National Stadium would go ahead as planned.

“The fact that festivals that have already been booked for the rest of the year will continue as scheduled should be a wake-up call – this means that we will be monitoring the situation with these events,” Olopeng said.

“Should we have anything like this again I will come back here and cancel music festivals for two years if I have to, so that it gives you and me time to come up with strategies that safeguard the lives of music lovers and supporters.”

He said Bogopa’s death was not the only serious incident that occurred at the concert.

“The truth of the matter is that what happened at the stadium is not something to be proud of. It resulted in the loss of a precious life, numerous rape incidents and damage to property.

“To make matters worse, the preliminary report I have is that the National Stadium is not in a state which according to international standards allows use by the sporting codes it was initially built for.”

Asked who would be held accountable for the damage, Olopeng said: “Definitely not the government. Yes, when we get into a contract with event organisers there is a security fee that we charge them but if the damage exceeds the amount we had charged as security then the event organisers would have to pay the balance. At the moment we cannot really quantify the damage but we will have those figures soon.”

Botswanan media outlet Mmegi Online reported on 5 September that the police were also investigating six stabbings that occurred at the event. Central Police Station commander Superintendent Vincent Pitseetsile said there was a stampede at one of the stadium’s gates.

“The event attracted multitudes. I witnessed the stampede. We tried to calm the situation but it was not easy because people flocked that gate in huge numbers. Investigations on the matter are ongoing,” he said.

“Six people sustained injuries after they were stabbed with knives while resisting with their phones and fighting with thieves in the process. Some were stabbed while chasing thieves who had snatched their phones. Luckily, the victims who were stabbed survived with minor injuries and were taken to hospital where some were discharged.”

Olopeng said the Botswana government was in the process of building venues designed to host concerts and festivals.