CAPE TOWN, South Africa (CelebrityAccess) The iPotsoyi Spring Festival, featuring hip-hop acts AKA, Dwesta, Busiswa and Sun-El Musician, was shut down Saturday night when a man was shot and killed in one of the festival’s dance areas.
Junior Pieterse, 21, was shot in the head around 11 p.m. On the “house stage” dance floor of the fest, promoted by Groove Afrika and which took place at Ostrich Farm in Philadelphia, a town in City of Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa.
An eyewitness told the Daily Voice, “We were at the main stage, which we call first stage, and the other smaller one is house stage. The party was rukking (rocking) when we heard someone was shot and the event was being shut down.
“I didn’t hear the gunshot and we were puzzled as to why they were shutting down early, then I saw the body and people were screaming.”
The woman said the music played for a few minutes after the shooting.
“Once everyone realized what happened, people started packing up. It was chaotic,” she said. “We left long after it happened because we waited for our Uber driver and the body lay there for a long time.”
Unfortunately someone got shot at iPotsoyi a few minutes ago and the cops shut the show down so I won’t be able to get on stage. Apologies and condolences.
— AKA (@akaworldwide) October 20, 2018
Another attendee said the crowd for AKA grew upset when the show was canceled.
“People at the main stage had no idea about the shooting and became raucous when the show was canceled for what they thought was for no reason,” he told the Daily Voice.
A police representative released the following:
“A case of murder has been opened for investigation. According to reports, police responded to the shooting incident at Vanschoordrift Road, Ostrich Farm, in Philadelphia at 11pm. Upon their arrival they found a 21-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the head. Circumstances are under investigation with no arrests so far.”
The festival has been part of the community for five years.
“Despite all challenges, we have consistently managed to work hand in hand with the City of Cape Town and our service providers to ensure a safe and secure environment, to the best of our ability,” the festival said in a statement. “Above All, our heartfelt condolences go out to the family of the deceased.”
The organizers said the incident is responsible for the end of the festival.
“iPotsoyi is not iPotsoyi if it is costing lives. It is unfortunate that after yesterday’s turn of events our vision has been lost; a vision which seeks to bring people together peacefully through the love of music. With heavy hearts we have taken the decision to discontinue this event series.”
