Bad policing mars historic festival

THE GLOBAL Citizen Festival held at the FNB stadium in Johannesburg on Sunday was an historic event that helped shine the spotlight on the country, while donating billions of rand to the less fortunate.

International music stars such as Beyoncé, Jay-Z and Pharrell Williams entertained music lovers, with local acts like Cassper Nyovest and Sho Madjozi ensuring that local talent was also featured in a festival aimed at celebrating the legacy of former president Nelson Mandela.

Many South Africans who went to bed with a sense of pride on Sunday, woke up yesterday feeling ashamed after music lovers were reportedly mugged by criminals on their way home after the music festival.

Scores of people, many of them young women, posted on social media horror stories of how brazen criminals preyed on them.

Ironically, police visibility was excellent as people made their way to the stadium, however, police were reportedly nowhere to be seen after the event. Serious questions have to be asked about the police deployment strategy especially on the night.

One terribly frustrated social media user asked:

“How hard can it be to deploy enough police for an event as high profile as #Global Citizen Festival? How hard is it, really? Just one day! Just one square mile or so! Police on foot, horseback, bicycles! Why are we so bent on shooting ourselves in the foot as a nation.”

We always pride ourselves on our ability to host international events, and this has been done successfully in the past.

However, judging by the storm of social media complaints, it is safe to conclude that the police really dropped the ball on this one.