Jah Prayzah’s set at the Purple Festival at Belgravia Sports Club in Harare at the weekend was marred by chaotic scenes with some members of the public throwing empty bottles on the stage.
The festival was part of Booties, a local pharmacy’s 12th-anniversary celebrations.
Jah Prayzah and his band were forced to seek cover after performing just two songs as the crowd enraged by the security details who unleashed dogs on revellers while trying to maintain order, started throwing missiles.
The security was trying to stop people from breaking the bar that separated the stage from the crowd, according to NewsDay Zimbabwe.
Jah Prayzah only returned to the stage when things had settled.
As he got back to the stage, the crowd went crazy for him as evidenced by the pushing and shoving as many wanted to be closer to the stage to be able to have a good glance at the multi-award-winning singer.
Despite the skirmishes, Jah Prayzah went on to put up a pure performance as the closing act where fellow artistes across genres had already electrified the mood.
Also, part of the performers were dancehall chanters Freeman, Killer, Enzo Ishall and Nutty O, Feli Nandi and hip-hop rapper Takura.
Booties Pharmacy brand manager Valentine Zhou admitted that they faced a lot of challenges in coming up with such a festival, adding that they still had a lot to learn.