KINSHASA, Congo: Seven people were killed and many others were injured during a stampede at a music concert in Congo’s capital Saturday, authorities said.
The stampede occurred at the 80,000-capacity Stade des Martyrs stadium in the heart of Kinshasa where Mike Kalambayi, a popular Congolese gospel singer, was performing, Kinshasa Gov. Daniel Bumba said.
State television RTNC said seven people were killed in the chaos and some of those injured were admitted to intensive care.
Authorities did not comment on what caused the stampede, saying an investigation into the incident was underway. However, the local music management company that organized the event said the chaos erupted when “the security services tried to neutralize some troublemakers.”
An estimated 30,000 people attended the concert, which featured several other musicians and pastors, the management company Maajabu Gospel said in a statement.
Videos that appeared to be from the scene and broadcast of the event showed large crowds gathered outside the stadium in front of barricades as they waited to enter. Inside, people could be seen rushing to the center stage.
Congo has witnessed such stampedes in past years, often blamed on poor crowd control measures such as excessive use of force. Eleven people died in a similar crush at the same stadium last October during a music concert.
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Seven people killed in stampede at a music concert in Congo’s capital, authorities report
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Seven people killed in stampede at a music concert in Congo’s capital, authorities report
- The stampede occurred at the Stade des Martyrs stadium where gospel singer Mike Kalambayi was performing, says governor
Japanese court set to sentence man who admitted killing former leader Abe
- Shinzo Abe was serving as a regular lawmaker after leaving the prime minister’s job when he was killed in 2022
TOKYO: A Japanese court on Wednesday will sentence a man who’s admitted assassinating former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a case that revealed decades of cozy ties between Japan’s governing party and a controversial South Korean church.
Abe, one of Japan’s most influential politicians, was serving as a regular lawmaker after leaving the prime minister’s job when he was killed in 2022 while campaigning in the western city of Nara. It shocked a nation with strict gun control.
Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, pleaded guilty to murder in the trial that started in October, and Wednesday’s ruling will determine how long he’ll spend in prison.
Shooter said he was motivated by hatred of a controversial church
Yamagami said he killed Abe after seeing a video message the former leader sent to a group affiliated with the Unification Church. He added that his goal was to hurt the church, which he hated, and expose its ties with Abe.
Prosecutors have demanded life imprisonment for Yamagami, while his lawyers have sought a sentence of no more than 20 years, speaking of his troubles as the child of a church adherent.
The revelation of close ties between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the church caused the party to pull back from the church. It also prompted investigations that ended with the church’s Japanese branch being stripped of its tax-exempt religious status and ordered dissolved.
The killing has also led to officials working to increase police protection of dignitaries.
Shooting at a crowded election campaign venue
Abe was shot on July 8, 2022, while giving a speech outside a train station in Nara. In footage captured by television cameras, two gunshots ring out as the politician raises his fist. He collapses holding his chest, his shirt smeared with blood. Officials say Abe died almost instantly.
Yamagami was captured on the spot. He said he initially planned to kill the leader of the Unification Church, but switched targets to Abe because of the difficulty of getting close to the leader.
Yamagami won sympathy from people skeptical of church
Yamagami’s case has also brought attention to the children of Unification Church adherents in Japan, and influenced a law meant to restrict malicious donation solicitations by religious and other groups.
Thousands of people have signed a petition requesting leniency for Yamagami, and others have sent care packages to his relatives and the detention center where he’s being housed.
Abe, one of Japan’s most influential politicians, was serving as a regular lawmaker after leaving the prime minister’s job when he was killed in 2022 while campaigning in the western city of Nara. It shocked a nation with strict gun control.
Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, pleaded guilty to murder in the trial that started in October, and Wednesday’s ruling will determine how long he’ll spend in prison.
Shooter said he was motivated by hatred of a controversial church
Yamagami said he killed Abe after seeing a video message the former leader sent to a group affiliated with the Unification Church. He added that his goal was to hurt the church, which he hated, and expose its ties with Abe.
Prosecutors have demanded life imprisonment for Yamagami, while his lawyers have sought a sentence of no more than 20 years, speaking of his troubles as the child of a church adherent.
The revelation of close ties between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the church caused the party to pull back from the church. It also prompted investigations that ended with the church’s Japanese branch being stripped of its tax-exempt religious status and ordered dissolved.
The killing has also led to officials working to increase police protection of dignitaries.
Shooting at a crowded election campaign venue
Abe was shot on July 8, 2022, while giving a speech outside a train station in Nara. In footage captured by television cameras, two gunshots ring out as the politician raises his fist. He collapses holding his chest, his shirt smeared with blood. Officials say Abe died almost instantly.
Yamagami was captured on the spot. He said he initially planned to kill the leader of the Unification Church, but switched targets to Abe because of the difficulty of getting close to the leader.
Yamagami won sympathy from people skeptical of church
Yamagami’s case has also brought attention to the children of Unification Church adherents in Japan, and influenced a law meant to restrict malicious donation solicitations by religious and other groups.
Thousands of people have signed a petition requesting leniency for Yamagami, and others have sent care packages to his relatives and the detention center where he’s being housed.
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