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Drugs affect us all - Mbeki
22/05/2004 13:07 - (SA)
Cape Town - President Thabo Mbeki said on Saturday that South Africans must unite to fight the problem of drugs.
Addressing a crowd of about 10 000 people who attended Brenda Fassie's funeral at Langa Stadium in Cape Town, Mbeki said society had a responsibility to help people who battled drug addiction.
"We all know the problems Brenda had. We wanted her to live to 80 years old," he said of the pop diva who died at age 39.
Mbeki said that drugs were a problem that affected everyone from artists to school pupils. "We have to fight this problem."
Fassie died at the Sunninghill Hospital earlier this month.
Before Mbeki spoke, the crowd broke through barricades into the VIP and media areas in order to get a better view of proceedings, a Sapa reporter at the scene said.
They then flooded into the area where Fassie's gold-coloured coffin was standing as there were no big screens around the stadium where the crowd could follow proceedings.
Nine people were slightly injured during the melee.
Three were taken to hospital and six were treated at the stadium.
While Cape Town mayor Nomaindia Mfeketo and Arts and Culture Minister Pallo Jordan paid tribute to Fassie, marshals and police officials fought a losing battle to keep the crowd from the barricades.
Western Cape premier Ebrahim Rasool even had to leave the stage where he had been sitting next to President Thabo Mbeki to help marshals calm the crowd.
On the stage, Jordan continued his eulogy.
While trying to get the crowd to sit down so that Mbeki could speak, an official told mourners that it was practice for the 2010 Soccer World Cup and that they should behave.
About 10 000 people were in the stadium to attend the funeral.
- SAPA
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