Riot police beat up Sizzla fans at Bob party
Jamaican reggae star Sizzla Kalonji came to the rescue of his fans in Zimbabwe at the weekend after they were beaten by riot police and soldiers at a concert for Dictator Robert Mugabe’s 86th birthday.
The artiste whose real name is Miguel Collins was performing during the 21st February Movement Gala on Saturday to ‘celebrate’ the World’s Oldest Head of State.
Sizzla was greeted by wild scenes as he appeared on stage under heavy police presence.
Ecstatic fans broke a barricade that was formed by the police to have a closer look at the reggae artiste, who was the star performer among a line up of local and foreign musicians.
Suddenly, the police started beating the fans to control them. The commotion caused a brief stoppage of Sizzla’s performance. He later pleaded with the police to stop the beatings.
Agitated fans responded by throwing missiles at the police and were only restrained after the reggae artiste appealed for calm. The gala was also broadcast live on Zimbabwean national TV.
Desperate to rebuild his battered image Mugabe personally pleaded with Sizzla during a phone call to come and perform at his birthday bash.
Not many international artists agree to be associated with Mugabe and his regime but Jamaican artists tend hero worship him because of their naïve and simplistic understanding of the land reform exercise in Zimbabwe.
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