The Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) launched an internal investigation following allegations of non-adherence to the traffic management plan and critical road closures at the Global Citizen Festival at FNB Stadium on 2 December 2018.
The JMPD will also continue to engage with the South African Police Service (SAPS) to follow up on any further reports and the progress of investigations into the attacks on citizens after the event.
JMPD arrested seven suspects at the stadium for common robbery charges and assault of a police officer, amongst others. The suspects appeared in court on 6 December but will remain behind bars until their next appearance on 11 December 2018 at the Booysens Magistrates Court.
It has since been confirmed by SAPS that there are 50 reports of criminal incidents relating to this event.
The City of Johannesburg’s Public Safety department is deeply saddened by the attacks many of the concertgoers had endured. We serve to keep our residents safe and in the failure to do so, we will act to establish why and take action against any wrongdoing. I must, however, make it clear that the JMPD, who was part of the Venue Operations Centre (VOC) team, was responsible for traffic management in accordance with the approved master plan which was approved by the Event Safety and Security Planning Committee (ESSPC).
The VOC team comprised of various stakeholders which include the event organisers, EMS, law enforcement agencies lead by the South African Police Services (SAPS) from both local and national levels. The overall planning and command for the event was under the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure which was under the command of SAPS. This included the Presidential Protection Service (PPS) as the lead security role-players in light of various Heads of State attending.
As per the operational plan, the majority of JMPD officers reported for duty from 6:00 am on 2 December 2018 and remained on site until 7:00 am on 3 December 2018. JMPD officers were there from midnight on 1 December 2018 to ensure that vehicles were not parked in restricted areas. Four (4) officers and two (2) vehicles were deployed from 00:00.
Additionally one JMPD breakdown vehicle was also present.
As the City’s government we must account to our residents and will not jump on the band wagon of finger pointing to shift responsibility. Yet, it must be noted that reports surfaced that road closure equipment and fencing did not arrive and deliver on time the morning of the event.
We are further concerned about the report that the Presidential Protection Service had overruled JMPD in vehicular access control which contributed further to the traffic congestions. JMPD adhered to the traffic management plan which was approved by ESSPC and there is yet to be any evidence that JMPD or any of the City structures made any deviation from the said traffic management plan.
We strongly reject the blaming tactic being deployed by several key stakeholders to shift responsibilities as it is neither progressive in rectifying the problem nor giving our residents any comfort in knowing that the next major event will be a safe one. However, the Department of Public Safety will work closely with the role players to ensure that important lessons are learned from this event and that the City remains a top and safe destination for major events. We believe that we can, and we are, determined to improve the City’s role in events taking place in Johannesburg in the future.
Our internal investigation has commenced as we need to establish what went wrong and learn valuable lessons. The City welcomes any substantiated reports that could assist with this investigation. And again, want to express our deepest regrets to those affected and call on the victims to come forward so that investigations can commence. At the end of the day, it is the safety of those we serve that is the most important.
For media queries:
Luyanda Longwe
Stakeholder Manager: MMC for Public Safety
luyandal@joburg.org.za
061 496 0536
Or
Chantelle Fourie-Shawe
Media Specialist: Office of the Executive Mayor
chantellef@joburg.org.za
081 546 1014
