Mbombela, Mpumalanga – The Southern African Alcohol Policy Alliance South Africa (SAAPA SA) is outraged by the planned BokTown fan park event at Nelspruit Primary School on 16 August 2025. This event isn’t about bringing people together; it’s about a corporation using our national pride to normalise and sell alcohol.
Let’s be clear: holding an alcohol event at a school isn’t just a bad idea—it’s against the law. Our schools are for learning, not liquor, and several laws—including the new BELA Act—prohibit selling or drinking alcohol on school premises. Our children deserve a safe, alcohol-free place to learn and grow, free from the influence of Big Alcohol.
By bringing a branded alcohol event to a school, Castle Lager and the Springboks are telling our kids that drinking is a normal part of their world. This is a dangerous message that exposes children to a product that causes harm and undermines the safety of our children, especially in a country already struggling with serious alcohol-fuelled violence, road deaths, and child neglect.
Our communities need to be protected from the alcohol industry. The BokTown event is a prime example of how corporate interests try to push alcohol into the very spaces meant for our kids to learn and grow. Classrooms must never be used as a business opportunity for an industry that causes so much harm.
SAAPA demands urgent action:
- The Mpumalanga Department of Education and the Provincial Liquor Board must intervene immediately and not allow the event on the school premises.
- The planned ‘BokTown’ event must be cancelled or moved to a non-school venue.
- SAB/ABinBev’s and other industry actors must stop using schools for alcohol promotion.
- The Department of Sport must end the partnership with SAB.
#AlcoholFreeSchools | #ProtectOurKids | #StopBigAlcohol | #SchoolsNotForBooze
Media contact: Mr Julian Jacobs on 061 917 9661