Picture: Benny Mayengani/Twitter
Tsonga musician Benny Mayengani said political sabotage was to blame after only a few fans made it to his Fill Up Peter Mokaba stadium concert on Saturday. According to Mayengani, fans failed to pitch at his concert because the SAPS allegedly arrested some bus drivers and stopped almost 20 buses from driving through to the venue claiming they did not have permits. But Mayengani said this had political sabotage written all over it.
He said he managed to sell 23,000 tickets for the event, but only a few made it.
He told Thobela FM: “It was a political sabotage since Benny Mayengani is an EFF member. We were told that the gates would be opened at 12pm but police only let people in at half-past 10 until I called CIC Julius Malema and Floyd Shivambu to send someone to interfere. They called the mayor of Polokwane. Why must they call the mayor of Polokwane for the stadium to be opened? Why involve Malema and Shivambu if this was not political? It was political because Benny is a member of the EFF, they’re trying to ruin my image. They should have let me fail on my own. The police turned away almost 20 buses in the province, some were arrested because of the permits, but why must the police do that? Why not Metro police? This was a political act. I didn’t fail, the event didn’t fail because this thing was political.”
Police spokesperson Captain Mmapaswa Seabi told The Sowetan that it was not the SAPS’ job to check for permits. Only traffic officers were meant to do that, he added.
“If the complainant had opened a case, we could have looked into it,” he was quoted as saying.
Mayengani further claimed that ANC head of elections Fikile Mbalula’s tweets following the concert also spoke volumes.
He asked: “Why did Fikile Mbalula celebrate that my event was not successful?”
However, Mbalula said it did not make sense to claim that the same ANC that cheered him on in his previous performances could sabotage him now.
He said: “#FillUpPeterMokabaStadium So ANC ingena everywhere, stadiums fail to fill up is ANC. The other in Tshwane everybody was happy, ANC/EFF supporting Benny. Today jiki we are saboteurs. He banna kunjani emuzantsi?”
Mayengani’s event was the talk of the social media streets after pictures of the few fans who made it circulated. While some blamed it on political sabotage, others said the timing of the concert was not ideal because it was during the Easter weekend.
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