Revellers Captured Beating Up Phone Thief During Live Nairobi Concert [VIDEO]

A female reveller was at one point captured joining her counterparts in raining blows on the thief before a male reveller stepped in to stop the fight from escalating into serious consequences.

admin admin
Oct 29, 2023 - 19:03 Updated: Oct 29, 2023 - 19:06
0
Revellers Captured Beating Up Phone Thief During Live Nairobi Concert [VIDEO]
A group of revellers captured beating up a suspected phone thief at Ngong Race course during a concert on October 28, 2023. /BTG NEWS

A video which has gone viral emerged on Sunday, October 29 showing revellers taking the law into their own hands against a suspected phone thief during a live concert in Nairobi.

The altercation in the video seen by Viral Tea took place during the three-day OktobaFest event that was held at the expansive Ngong Racecourse between Friday, October 27 and Sunday, October 29.

In the clip, a group of male revellers were seen violently attacking the thief suspected to have robbed a reveller of their mobile phone, the altercation causing a commotion in front of one of the concert stages where award-winning Tanzanian singer Diamond Platnumz was performing.

A female reveller was at one point captured joining her counterparts in raining blows on the thief before a male reveller stepped in to stop the fight from escalating into serious consequences.

Here is the video (WARNING: GRAPHIC NATURE):

The clip sparked mixed reactions, with a section of netizens remarking Platnumz performing in front of thousands of fans oblivious of the ensuing altercation.

Viral Tea was unable to independently establish whether action was taken against the suspected thief through the necessary authorities and the nature of the injuries he incurred in the process.

Many Kenyans raised concerns yet again regarding the level of insecurity during live concerts, with some criticising the security deployed for protecting revellers at the venues.

One Yvonne Buluma weighed in by disclosing the inside job that goes on between the security officers and the pickpocketers, the latter who bribe their way out of trouble during the events.

"Never seen so many thieves/pickpockets in a single place and to make matters worse some would be identified and they would talk themselves out of the security guys and the police and to some extent give something small then they are released back to the crowd. It was bad," she wrote.

Chilling Stories Of Kenyans Robbed During Concerts

Notably, this isn't the first time Kenyans have witnessed chilling revelations of revellers robbed at concerts, especially with the festive season on the horizon packed with crowded events for thrift-loving Kenyans, especially in Nairobi.

On November 13, 2022, Kenyans shared a series of posts on Twitter (now X) recounting how they have been faced with the most chilling incidents of mugging at concerts held in the capital.

From losing valuables such as money, phones, accessories, and clothes, Kenyans narrated how they came face to face with heartless groups of well-organised gangs, some of whom even infiltrated VIP sections, the most secure location at any concert.

"These people buy tickets so that they can steal from others. Some of them are armed with guns and knives, even police are scared and they can't do anything," Okello Dennis recounted.

While many would think that event organisers are excluded from the gangs as targets, that is not the case as some of them have lost their high-end equipment to the gangs.

There are those who expressed that the incidents were disheartening and that they have vowed never to attend concerts in their lives. Still, a majority of the social media users laid the blame squarely on event organisers for the state of insecurity at their concerts. 

A birds-eye view of Ngong Racecourse. /PINTEREST

“Spend more on security. Prioritize the safety of concert-goers and they will reward you by showing at every event you organise,” Boniface Mwangi advised.

An event organiser however countered by revealing "As part of a mega-event organising team, we tried recruiting a top-notch security consultant for our annual gig. He is excellent at his job and does it for some big brands in the region. His quote was Ksh3 million the least costly effort. We paid the local OCS 200K and got 200 cops."

Kenyans also disclosed that a majority of the horrendous experiences occurred when revellers were leaving concerts to return home, with the most notorious locations listed including Ngong Racecourse, Nyayo Stadium, Kasarani Stadium, and Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC). 

Tags: