It would have taken more than a miracle for pastor Andile KaMajola to rescue his much-hyped Vodacom Durban July tent.
|||Durban - It would have taken more than a miracle for Durban pastor Andile KaMajola to rescue his much-hyped Vodacom Durban July tent.
In spite of the lavishly laid out tables and chairs there was no food, no drinks, no entertainment from gospel stars and the pastor was nowhere in sight for those who had paid R1 000 a head.
Aptly named after the pastor, the Andile KaMajola Gospel Lounge was billed as one of the most sought after marquees at the glitzy horse racing event. Decked out in red, black and white draping, glitzy gold and red chairs, the marquee needed more than colourful draping to bring it to life.
KaMajola, an award-winning gospel artist and founder of the All Nations Cathedral International Church, had promised racegoers an unforgettable experience at the first religious-themed marquee at the horse racing event.
For several weeks leading up to the R3.5 million event, the pastor said his marquee would be abuzz with gospel singers, pastors from various churches, business people and government officials.
Several disappointed racegoers said none of the promises materialised.
“He was right about one thing though,” said Slungile Simelane, who had received the tickets as a gift. “The experience was truly unforgettable.
“I expected to see gospel artists, I though there would food and cooldrinks, but I didn’t get any of those things.”
It took her almost two hours to locate the unbranded tent.
When she finally found her way, she said she was met by an empty but beautifully decorated tent.
“There was just one guy inside who was in charge of the sound system. He assured me that I was at the right tent and that many people had arrived and left after they were met by the same sight,” she said.
KaMajola said three meals were served on the day, but when The Independent on Saturday reporter told him she had returned to the tent three times and had seen no food, drinks or the pastor himself, he said the food may have been served later.
“I wasn’t stationed at my tent the whole time. I was also invited to other marquees,” he said.
Entertainment reporter Valencia Govindsamy said she was about to give up after it took her half of the afternoon to find the tent.
“I couldn’t find it and couldn’t get a hold of their media person or the pastor for directions,” she said.
KaMajola blamed the “highly congested” network for people not being able to get a hold of him.
Another racegoer said she decided to leave at about 5pm when the pastor had still not arrived.
Other guests this week also expressed their frustration and displeasure.
“The pastor was clearly fasting but he forgot to tell us,” said one guest after standing outside the tent for more than 20 minutes.
The pastor – who caused quite a stir with his tough stance on the event, banning scantily clad women, alcohol, cigars and betting – told a different story this week, saying everything had gone according to plan.
He said he had sold 85 percent of the R1 000 tickets.
“I’ve heard people saying that my tent was a disaster but I think there are people conspiring against me, trying to tarnish my name,” he said calmly. “A lot of eyes were on me and because it was the first Christian tent people are now trying to scrutinise everything.”
One hundred tickets were sold by Computicket through a screening process, he said.
“We didn’t just sell the tickets to anyone. We first wanted to get the person’s details from Computicket before deciding on whether to sell them the tickets,” he said.
However, Shoprite spokeswoman Sarita van Wyk, who oversaw the Computicket ticket procedure, said the tickets were sold on the same basis as all other events. “There are no screening processes involved for ticket purchases,” she said.
KaMajola also insisted that there was plenty of food and non-alcoholic beverages.
The artists – he said changing his tune from what he had said two weeks ago – weren’t necessarily coming to sing but would be there to grace the event. They also didn’t show.
“They missed their flight,” said KaMajola. “Besides the July is not a gospel event.”
While he conceded that locating the tent might have been a challenge, he blamed Gold Circle, saying he was told that because his tent was small he couldn’t brand it.
Gold Circle spokesman Gill Simpkins, who said she was aware of the incident, said the onus was on the marquee organiser to ensure his guests were able to locate the tent.
Apologising to people who felt let down, KaMajola said people shouldn’t be so tough on him as some of the incidents were unforeseen. He said these were just teething problems.
“I’ll come back better and stronger next year,” he promised. “I will have an assembly point and a shuttle to transport my guests.”
Meanwhile, after much excitement from racegoers, including council speaker Logie Naidoo, Princess Charlene of Monaco was also a no-show. She cancelled at the last minute.
Independent on Saturday