On Monday evening the Varsity Cup final between Maties and Tuks sparked an uproar across the nation when Kurt Darren sang randomised words during the Sesotho part of the South African national anthem. The event was broadcasted live and social media saw various responses concerning the incident.
Maties Rugby team lined up to sing national anthem, led by Kurt Darren, at the 2019 Varsity Cup final PHOTO: Luke Thorrold from Asem Engage
During an interview with KFM on Tuesday morning, Darren explained that he doesn’t understand why everyone is responding this way. “I thought it was great,” he goes on to explain.
“I’m not making an excuse but I was asked to sing the anthem and I actually don’t know where I messed up,” says Darren.
A Stellenbosch University (SU) alumni student, who wishes to remain anonymous, commented on the matter when watching the game on live television, “The main reason I am upset is because this is the national anthem and I feel that South Africans – particularly in the Western Cape – don’t make any effort to learn the vernacular parts of the anthem.”
South African Students Congress (SASCO) SU Chairperson, Zizo Vokwana, also expresses her frustration on the matter. “The whole situation just shows white ignorance. The fact that he knew he was going to sing the national anthem and didn’t prepare himself is very disrespectful.”
Darren took to Facebook Tuesday afternoon to apologise for singing the words incorrectly. “So I will always take the singing our anthem seriously. I would never intentionally mess up the lines. Why on earth would I? I was obviously caught up in the moment of singing acapella with 20 000 students and mixed up the words of a line, and I apologise profusely for that,” adds Darren.
Kurt Darren’s apology on Facebook regarding the national anthem incident at the Varsity Cup final SCREENSHOT: Facebook/ Kurt Darren
In a statement Varsity Cup commented on the incident by saying they took note of Darren’s apology regarding his rendition of the national anthem and consider the matter closed.
This isn’t the first time South Africa sees a backlash concerning the singing of the national anthem. In 2009, South African reggae musician, Ras Dumisani, made headlines when he sang an off-key rendition of the national anthem before a rugby match between South Africa and France.
Another example of this occurred in 2011 when South African rock musician, Ard Matthews, forgot the words to the national anthem during a live broadcast on Supersport.