For those lucky enough to get tickets to the ‘Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100’ concert on Sunday, seeing artists like Beyonce and Jay-Z perform was a dream come true.
Unfortunately, for many, the incredible night was marred by what took place outside the stadium.
South Africans have taken to Twitter to detail their crime horror stories when, after the festival, people who had left the FNB Stadium and were waiting for transport outside the Sasol garage were harassed and mugged.
A witness told TimesLIVE that she saw a group of about seven men walking in between people causing chaos.
“There was a couple walking in front of us. The next thing we knew the girl started screaming. They tried to grab whatever she was holding. It was such a mess. Everybody started running in between cars to avoid the thugs. Mind you, there were no police in the vicinity at all,” said Jamie-Lee Markgraaff.
A TimesLIVE journalist also witnessed a woman being hauled from her car and assaulted. The assailant also removed one of her shoes and proceeded to smash her car window with it.
Several security guards who were manning the parking area watched as the assault happened. They ignored pleas by concert-goers to intervene.
Security also looked on as the following took place at the Sasol Garage, some of which was tweeted live by concertgoers outside the stadium:
CEO of Stadium Management South Africa, Jacques Grobbelaar, said because of the high-profile nature of the event, which included the attendance of 58 heads of state, police and celebrities, Global Citizen took control of safety and security.
According to Grobbelaar, the lack of police goes against standard protocol:
“When we manage an event, we stay for at least two hours afterwards to ensure the safety and security of people. In this case, we were just landlords. The event was controlled by SAPS and Global Citizen,” he said.
Whatever the case, this is a terrifying look at the reality of South African crime at the moment.
