Local officials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have said that 30 people have been killed in a deadly stampede at a tribute festival for popular singer, King Kester Emeneya over the weekend.

Provisional toll initially put the number of deaths at 14 but the death toll has increased sharply on Sunday. The incident happened on Friday night.

The incident was said to have occurred at the singer’s home town of Kikwit and local reporters quoted officials as saying that the stampede was due to the enthusiasm of the audience who were paying tribute. Kikwit is about 500km east from the national capital, Kinshasa.

The local government in the area confirmed in a statement that the accident was caused by a blackout when two generators supplying power to the town of Kikwit failed. The audience then rushed to get out as a result of the darkness.

An unnamed doctor from a local hospital said they had received 30 bodies and added that the death toll is likely to rise due to the nature of injuries those injured sustained.

Witnesses also told local reporters that the tragedy happened as the sudden darkness panicked audience in the stadium who tried to rush out and clashed with people who were trying to get in.

Spokesman for Bandundu province, Camille Sesep told reporters that the incident is regrettable and that the government has taken control of the incident.

“We deeply regret the incident, two policemen were included in the provisional toll, the government is busy taking charge of the victims’’, he said.

The tribute was scheduled for three days but the local government has cancelled the rest of the program due to the incident.

King Kester Emeneya died in February this year following heart problems in Paris and his funeral was said to be the largest in the history of the Congo and was broadcast live on all channels in the country and many others around the world.

He was very innovative with his music. He was said to be the first central African musician to incorporate electronic instruments in his album entitled Nzinzi which sold millions of copies.

In 1993, he released his album “Every Body’’ which he distributed by Son disc and was a big success both locally and internationally. He has more than 1000 songs to his credit and has performed on five continents.

Issaka Adams / NationalTurk Africa News

Writer’s Email Address: Adamsisska@googlemail.com

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