Jamaican artist Chris Martin and the orgainsers of the Big Deal concert Umoja Splash festival have come out to apologize to revellers who were mugged and allegedly assaulted during the concert which went down in Impala grounds last weekend.

Through a series of tweets, Chris Martin admitted that their were some security lapses during the event but promised to return to Nairobi and make it up to fans.

“Now, I see a few reports about my concert in Nairobi this past weekend and how my performance was marred by muggers and the lack of proper security. Whilst performing I did see a few scuffles that threw me off but I didn’t know the magnitude of what was happening,” he posted

Adding" “I’d like to extend my sincerest apologies to those affected by those criminals who targeted my awesome supporters who braved the inclement weather to come, enjoy and sing some #SweetSugahReggae wid mi! Mi vex yf. Anyway...Nairobi you were the best despite it all and I had the time of my existence!!!! I will definitely be returning soon and we’re gonna have an even better time...unuh ready!?? Wait til mi comeback Love you all ".

On their part the organisers say they have now put into place to ensure such incidents do not happen again in the future calling on the county and national government especially the police to support them and also offer event friendly venues.

Below is a statement from the organisers.

As Steppin’ Razor and Ngoma Tucheze we endeavor to give our fans the best live music experience at every concert we have.

Following a phenomenal reggae show in July we followed up with a reggae event featuring not only the main act but two of Jamaica’s biggest stars to give our fans the ultimate experience. 

The presidential summit at our initial venue coupled with the large numbers that bought in early necessitated a last minute venue change. With the only option being a venue with known security challenges we put in the necessary controls but ultimately with the incoming storm and fans eager to attend it led to a rush at the gate. 

Umoja Splash Festival is a brand that continues to bring to Kenya the ultimate reggae and dancehall acts and we hope that our USF family will continue to support us.  

To counter such occurrences in the future we have put together our own standardized operational protocol to ensure that the client experience is as enjoyable as possible. 

We will also look into venue options as in Nairobi we currently have only two secure and controlled venues with the rest needing massive reinforcements. 

We have great respect for the fans who have supported our shows and we apologize for the lapses in controls and security. We guarantee a safer experience at the next event based on lessons from this event.  

We also request support from the county and national government with additional event friendly venues as well as police support through subsidized police teams trained for crowd and event management, specifically targeting  the youth who are the majority who attend the event. 

 Finally we thank everyone who supported the event in any way as well as all those who attended. The exhilarating show and massive turn out truly showed that #NobodyCanStopReggae.