Skip to main content
Report - African Cup of Nations

Rain stops riot at CAN 2012

There were obviously some very important people at my hotel on the day of the Gabon v Tunisia match.

Reuters/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
Advertising

I was woken at 7.50am by rather agitated voices. They were bickering in what I imagine to be a local dialect.

For all I know the conversation could have been? “Why don’t you take the sheets to the laundry yourself …”

There are many good things about the hotel: tennis court, sleek swimming pool; running water as well as a few downsides: no fridge or kettle in the room. But the worst thing for me is the location of my room.

It is situated adjacent to the approach drive to the hotel. It’s not only my affliction. There are about half a dozen other poor souls who have to tolerate the same cacophony of rickety minibuses and growly gas guzzlers.

As 7.50am was a tad early for me to rise on a match day, I thought I’d try and get half an hour extra shut-eye before the travails of the day.

Forget that trick.

At regular intervals big 4x4 jeeps and mini6palaces trundled along the approach to the hotel lobby.

No chance of slumberland so I got up and on with the day. I had some breakfast and thought I’d take advantage of my early rise to go and hit a few tennis balls against the wall at the back of the court.

I later walked past the hotel lobby and heard the crackle of walkie-talkies as well as a few snake-hipped soldiers in fatigues.

It’s at junctures like this that I ponder a dichotomy. A large part of me says if you see a man or men with a gun, then get as far away as possible. Another part of me wonders why are armed individuals sauntering around the precincts of your hotel.

There must be a very important person around who needs guarding or - this reveals my essentially benign disposition - the soldiers have come for a spot of coffee after dawn manoeuvres out in the hills.

I didn’t get the answers. Most of the hotel staff were more interested in how to obtain tickets for the match at the stadium.

One told me he would go down to the stadium, hang around and see if he could get in. I advised against that. I said the police would be there to stop that kind of behaviour.

“But it’s the national team!”

“There’ll be loads of people down there,” I warned. “It’ll be dangerous there could be a riot when they can’t get in."

Possible riots? Ergo soldiers in the lobby.

But the security boys needn’t have worried. Torrential downpours spattered Franceville in the hours before the match.

And as one south London bobby told me many years ago when I were but a cub reporter: “Very little happens when it rains."

Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning

Keep up to date with international news by downloading the RFI app

Share :
Page not found

The content you requested does not exist or is not available anymore.