‘Africans Unite’, a concert aimed to foster peace between Nigeria and South Africa in the wake of xenophobia, has been cancelled following public outcry over the inclusion of Burna Boy, Nigerian megastar, in the line-up.
The Afro-fusion crooner is in the centre of a protracted controversy after he had vowed never to visit South Africa following the xenophobia attacks in the country in September.
Few weeks after Burna Boy’s avowal, TheCable Lifestyle had reported that he was billed to headline the concert, which is expected to take place at Cape Town at The Lawns on November 23, and Tshwane’s Sun Arena on November 24.
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The development, however, did not go down too well with quite a number of persons and groups in South Africa, who objected to the inclusion of Burna Boy in the concert.
Phambili Media, the organisers of the show, took to social media to say that after engagement with Burna Boy’s management, a decision to withdraw his name from the line-up was taken.
As a result, both legs of the concert were cancelled, it added.
“With the increasing threats of violence from other unfortunate segments of the public and without any government intervention, Phambili Media and Play Network Africa were prompted to take the threats and warnings seriously, as the safety of all artists and attendees could not be guaranteed. We then decided to cancel the concert. The safety of all attendees, artists and crew comes first,” the statement read in part.
Channel O, one of the partners of the show, also took to its Twitter page on Thursday to confirm the cancellation of the much-anticipated event.
“Channel O regrets to inform you that the AfricansUnite concert has been cancelled. Details on on full refund on ticket purchases,” it wrote.
Julius Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), a South African political party, had earlier declared that “there’s no mascot that can stop Burna Boy from performing in the country.”
The Afro-fusion singer was recently nominated for the 2020 Grammy Awards, barely hours before he teamed up with Ed Sheeran and Stormzy, two UK artistes, for a ‘Own It’.