Castle Tankard after party show enthralls
ALL roads led to the Borrowdale Racecourse at the weekend for the Castle Tankard horse race which was graced by local showbiz superstars.
The horse race made a loud return after a two-year sabbatical due to COVID-19.
The Tankard race after party gig was enthralling, but fans were, however, disappointed after top dancehall chanter The Gafa Winky D’s performance was shorter than they had anticipated.
Winky D, who sauntered onto the stage at exactly 2138 hours, just 22 minutes before the end of the show, performed a series of his Njema album hits as well as some of his yesteryear songs. At exactly 2200 hours the police stopped the show and The Gafa had no choice but to exit the stage. The reason for police action was, however, not clear, but it was most likely the police were enforcing curfew regulations.
Winky D proved to be a darling to many and fans could not hold back their disappointment. In protest they threw empty cans and bottles which triggered a stampede.
The crowd jostled to get out of the venue and it was all mayhem which resulted in some fans being injured.
Unfortunately, the police confirmed two people dead following the stampeede.
In a press statement yesterday police identified the victims as Thomas Maarira (43) and Emelia Makoga (44). They said investigations are still underway and have encouraged the organisers of big social events to limit their numbers in order to avoid such unfortunate scenarios.
Castle Tankard event organisers also issued a condolence message to the deceased families.
Before Winky D went on stage, Enzo paved the way at the after party gig with his tracks Mhamha, Kanjiva and Siki, among others.
Sungura lovers put on their dancing shoes to the sungura king Alick Macheso’s performance soon after Enzo left the stage.
Macheso proved that he is, indeed, the king of sungura as fans did not only dance but loudly sang along the lyrics of his yesteryear hits such as Madhau and Chengetai.
As in most of his performances, Macheso adds that extra touch to his stage routines which makes his acts memorable. At one time the strummed his iconic bass guitar with his head.
Dj Ethaton did not dampen the crowd’s mood as he combined genres across the music industry, and paid tribute to the late dancehall chanter Soul Jah Luv, proving that music, indeed, does not die.
Everything went on well, although some drunkards occasionally spoiled the fun by engaging in fistfights.
But it was heartening that, indeed, local artistes proved that they are capable of pulling huge crowds even better than international artistes who visited the country recently.