NTN’s Ulamba forces Boss Madam Sally off stage

Rukee Kaakunga

By Monday morning, social networks were abuzz with claims of racism apparently leading to Sally being booted off stage as she was allegedly ‘scaring 600 white people’, according to a tweet.

Desiree Nanuses, Curator of the National Art Gallery of Namibia, who was one of the organisers of the fashion show where Sally performed says that when booking the venue, they were not informed that the NTN had first priority to the beer garden which is situated at Garlic and Flowers restaurant. “We even advertised the event long before it was to happen but none of the NTN people approached us with a complaint. Alma only came to us on the Friday before the show, but by then we told her that we would go on with the show,” she said. “It’s better that we put these things in writing instead of having these ‘gentlemen’s agreements’ which people don’t know about,” she said.

Alma Ulamba from the NTN says that the NTN had no idea that the fashion show was taking place and if they did, they would not have allowed it to go on. “Whoever intends to have events either at the NTN or Garlic and Flowers has to book the event with our production office,” she said. Ulamba maintains that she had approached the organisers of the event to reach a solution. “I asked them to delay their opening until 19h00 and to go on a break after an hour, when my patrons would be taking a refreshment break and would need to use the beer garden,” she says. This was not the case though as by the time NTN patrons were on a break, the fashion show and performance by Sally was in full effect. It was by this time that Ulamba made some remarks which didn’t sit well with the Garlic and Flowers crowd. “I simply said, these are white people and they would not enter the beer garden if they see that something is happening there,” she explains. “The reality is, I know my patrons, if white people see that there is something happening somewhere, they will not enter, if they were black, they would enter,” Ulamba said. When asked if the descriptions of her patrons on the basis of their race might have made the situation worse, Ulamba simply explained that that is just the way it is.

Sally’s manager, Salmi Enkali expressed anger and dismay at the manner in which her artist was handled. “How does she (Ulamba) expect people to understand if she tells the sound people to stop the music or she would do it herself? In the middle of a performance?”