HUGH NEVILL, Johannesburg | Monday
SOME bereaved family members collapsed in tears on Sunday as church ministers “cleansed” Johannesburg’s Ellis Park sports stadium after a stampede left 43 dead and 160 injured last week.
The ministers dipped fly-whisks into bowls of holy water, then sprinkled the stands where thousands of would-be spectators surged into an already full stadium on Wednesday evening, and the pitch where the bodies were laid out.
“Too many in our country die from unnatural causes,” President Thabo Mbeki declared before laying a wreath.
“We should not add to that by having people die at places of the celebrations of life such as our sports competitions.”
Mbeki said a judicial commission of inquiry which will probe the tragedy was not focused on attributing blame, “but focused on ensuring that we don’t have this tragedy again, focused at ensuring that we continue to occupy this proud place in soccer according to which for a succession of years FIFA (football’s world governing body) has placed South Africa among the 20 top soccer nations of the world.”
“To stay in that position means also that we have to take care of the safety of the soccer fans,” he said.
About 5_000 people – far fewer than expected – were in the stands to hear the names of the dead read out. Church choirs sang gospel hymns, and two poets read verses they had composed for the occasion.
South African Council of Churches (SACC) secretary general Molefe Tsele described the cleansing ritual as “a very significant part of our religious beliefs as African people”.
He said the site where people lost their lives must be cleansed so it could be used for its true purpose.
The SACC president, Bishop Mvume Dandala, asked God in an opening prayer “to deliver us from the temptation to apportion blame before we have understood the reason why”.
He urged God: “Clean the stain left by our errors of omission and commission; wash away the bloodstains of those who have died tragically here”.
Among those who laid wreaths was world heavyweight boxing champion Lennox Lewis of Britain, here to defend his titles against Hasim Rahman of the United States on April 22 at Carnival City, southeast of Johannesburg.
“I just came to show my support,” Lewis said. “I think it affected the whole world, not just Africa.”
The families of the dead also laid wreaths – small ones. Some collapsed, to be hugged by other bereaved, and offered water.
Doctors and psychologists set up a counselling centre at the stadium for them.
The stampede on Wednesday evening came when thousands of would-be spectators forced their way into the already full stadium in a bid to watch a match between the Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, both from the Johannesburg region. – AFP