The UMbuso Wamaciko Maskandi Festival, which took place on Saturday at Gugu Dlamini Park in Durban, came to an abrupt end when maskandi enthusiasts hurled bottles and other hazardous items onto the stage.
Though the time was up, they insisted on seeing their favourite maskandi artists. Officials from Ethekwini metro police forcibly ended the event.
Snethemba Mbangi, who attended the event, said: “The incident happened in the early hours of Sunday morning, just after 2.30am. It was a free event with 56 main artists.
“In addition to this, there were scores of upcoming artists who were also performing. So, hundreds of people from Durban and surrounding areas attended the event.
“The event started on Saturday morning, and most upcoming artists performed without any hassles. Problems started in the evening when the performances by the main artists were cut short.
“They could not even finish their songs due to time constraints. Before we knew it, we saw the police coming on stage and forcefully closing the event.
“That’s when people started throwing bottles and other objects on stage.”
According to him, the fans thought the event would end at 4am on Sunday.
“I’m still traumatised by the incident. Bottles were flying on top of our heads, and I heard a few gunshots. I guess the police were trying to disperse us. We ran in all directions.”
I slept on the street
Another fan, Ziningi Majola, said: “I actually slept at the mall, by the doorsteps. My life was at risk, and anything could have happened during the mayhem or at the mall where I was sleeping.
“We were told that the event would finish at about 4am, then I’d have been able to take a taxi back home. But the event organisers lied to us; as a result, I was stranded and slept on the street.”
The event organiser, Sanele Hlongwa, confirmed the incident.
“I can confirm that people were unhappy and threw bottles on stage. We knew we had to close on Sunday at 2am, but we thought we could try our luck.,” Hlongwa said.
“We shortened the performance time for artists, and we still allowed more artists on stage after 2am to perform.
“Unfortunately, the police stopped us. Obviously, people were not happy, and as a result, they retaliated.”
Gezani Dludla, the spokesperson for the event, apologised to the fans and artists who did not get a chance to perform.
“We’d like to apologise for this. We were also hoping to close in the morning, when everyone is able to take a public transport back home,” he said.
“I know many artists did not perform because of the chaos. It wasn’t their fault, but I cannot say they’ll be paid or not.”
