Courtesy: ReutersNG
Two concerts in South Africa expected to feature Nigerian star Burna Boy have been canceled following “increasing threats of violence”, a statement from the organisers says.
He had been scheduled to appear at the ‘Africans Unite’ concerts in Cape Town and Pretoria this weekend.
Burna Boy’s scheduled appearance was criticized and questioned by many South Africa-based artists upset by comments Burna Boy made regarding the spate of xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
He took to social media in September to urge black foreigners living in SA to defend and protect themselves against xenophobic attacks. In a now-deleted tweet, he also told rapper AKA to “beef up his security”, before giving him the middle finger.
He also promised to never set foot in SA again until the government “wakes the f*ck up and really performs a miracle”. However, a month later, he was announced as part of the Africans Unite line-up to “unify all Africans and speak out against femicide”.
Phambili Media, the organization behind the “Africans Unite’ event said its decision came after the Tshwane Entertainment Collective’s call for a boycott and “increasing threats of violence from other unfortunate segments of the public”. But the company did not specify what those threats were.
“The safety of all attendees, artists and crew comes first,” it added.
Those who have bought tickets for the concert have been urged to call the Computicket call centre for a full refund to the card used for payment.
