Belgium's former Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne broke his own Covid-19 rules at a private party after the Kamping Kitsch Club festival in August 2021, according to a book by Dutch businessman Salar Azimi.
Van Quickenborne is in hot water following the publication of a book by Dutch businessman Salar Azimi (known from the television programme 'The sky is the limit'). In it, Azimi wrote about a nightly private party in Kortrijk, where more people were present than was permitted under the Covid measures in force at that time.
"The afterparty was held in a beautiful house of one of the notables in Kortrijk. Numerous Covid rules were still in force, but notables and their friends apparently had different rules," he said. "Everything was put in a different perspective when I later learned that one of them was the Belgian Justice Minister."
Het Laatste Nieuws also published footage from that particular party on Thursday, which has since been widely shared on social media. The video shows a dancing Van Quickenborne at the party, even though at the time, he was responsible for the follow-up of the Covid rules.
Breaking his own rules
After months of strict health measures, summer 2021 saw the last rules before the "empire of freedom" in autumn: on 20 August, the Consultative Committee announced that restrictions on the hospitality industry, as well as on the number of guests in private homes, would be lifted. However, the new measures were only due to come into effect 12 days later, on 1 September.
Two days after the announcement, the Kamping Kitsch Club festival took place in Kortrijk. All attendees had to present a Covid Safe Ticket (CST) to prove they had been fully vaccinated or had recently taken a negative test.
Also present at the festival was Van Quickenborne (Mayor of Kortrijk and at the time Justice Minister) and businessman Salar Azimi, who was performing at the festival. In line with the measures in place, the festival ended at midnight, and Van Quickenborne and Azimi both moved to a private party nearby. According to Azimi, it concerned an exclusive party with about 30 guests.
As long as they all stayed outside, there would be no problem, but the footage shows that the invitees continued partying inside the house – despite the rule prohibiting indoor gatherings of groups with more than eight people.
Van Quickenborne responded to the allegations, saying he "made an error of judgement" on social media. "I went to that party to thank the festival organisers. When I arrived, most people were still outside."
"But at one point there were more than eight of us inside. I should have left the room at that point, but I did not. For that I want to apologise," he said, adding that he understands the outrage that has now arisen. "Although I would like to point out that we were at the tail end of the Covid-19 crisis and had already decided to relax the measures."
"Additionally, at the festival, there was also the Spoiler Room, where 5,000 people were crammed into a tent. With no face mask, no distance. That was possible because they had a Covid Safe Ticket," Van Quickenborne said. "It shows, to me, that some rules – especially at the end of the crisis – did not always make sense. Sorry for that too."
Ironically, Van Quickenborne still called for strict enforcement of the measures and heavy fines for people who violated them. He himself, however, does not have to fear a fine for this breach of rules: the Prosecutor's Office is not opening an investigation into the incident.
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"No report was filed at the time of the offences, so the police could not go to the scene to establish the violation. Therefore, it is no longer possible to verify whether the allegations in the book correspond to reality," the Public Prosecutor's Office stated.
This is not the first time Van Quickenborne has been caught in a tight spot because of party footage. In August, controversy arose over alleged peeing movements of the former minister – which he claimed were "air guitar" movements – in footage of his birthday party, dubbed 'Pipigate'.
Those images caused a stir because they showed some guests at the party urinating several times against a police van. Van Quickenborne said he was not aware of this.
