In a desperate attempt to draw more attention to his plays, a pensioner from Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication, set himself on fire, Monday, March 27, in front of the headquarters of the ministry.
This is not a first for this person who, for years, “threatens and harasses the department of Bensaïd to sell him his shows”, we are told by the ministry, noting that the pensioner in question, “the two plays sold to the ministry are not enough”.
This Monday, March 27, he doused himself with fuel, deciding to drown his body in the flames in front of the culture department of the ministry, before being rescued by people present on the spot who immediately intervened to extinguish the flames. He was transported to CHU Ibn Sina and his condition is stable, tell us well-informed sources.
The same sources told MoroccoLatestNews that the official worked at the Mohammed V Theater in Rabat, before retiring in October 2021 and focusing on theatrical activity, noting that he does not have a troupe but produces alone.
Over the years, the retiree, who has already stayed at the Ar-Razi Hospital in Salé, has visited the ministry on several occasions with the aim of selling his theatrical plays. The Bensaïd department has indeed agreed to acquire two shows in 2022 and was considering another purchase during this year, but that did not seem to be enough for the retiree.
Our interviewees clarified that the threat is not new, since the theater man has spent the last few years harassing and challenging the culture department for different reasons. He spent no less than 20 years threatening to set himself on fire and ended up taking action on Monday morning, with the very last demand “make the ministry buy more theatrical plays”. ” He has a whole file. In 2001, several media outlets reported on his acts and threats”they add.
However, following this incident, the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication expressed, in a press release, “ his deep regrets for this tragic incident, and wished a speedy recovery to this citizen, who was transferred to receive care at the CHU Ibn Sina in Rabat”. The ministry also expressed “ his full solidarity with the +victim+ and his family, following what happened, whatever the reasons, circumstances or origins of this accident“.
The statement said in particular that the case concerns a retiree from the Mohammed V Theater in Rabat who ” enjoys all his rights guaranteed to him by law, and works in parallel in the theatrical art“.
The person in question had previously submitted a request for the purchase of theatrical plays, approved by the ministry, which in fact acquired two productions in 2022 and agreed to purchase a third for the year 2023. These were previously presented in the cities of Belkasiri and Salé, continues the same source.
The ministry says it is closely following the case of the person concerned, and an official from the culture sector has been dispatched to monitor his state of health at the hospital.