According to reports, the highly publicized anti-xenophobia concert “Africans Unite” which Burna Boy was slated to perform in South Africa has been cancelled.
The show was cancelled as a result of increasing threats of violence from South Africans and the deafening silence of the government who seem to be unperturbed to take any relevant action concerning the threats.
Timeslive, the organizers of the Africans Unite show had a discussion with Burna Boy’s management team, Phambili Media and Play Network.
The two teams decided to remove Burna Boy from the show. As a result, both legs of the concert which were set to take place on the 23rd November at Hillcrest Quarry, Cape Town and November 24 at Sun Arena, Pretoria have now been cancelled.
According to a statement from Phambili Media, the decision to cancel the Africans Unite Concert comes after the call from the Tshwane Entertainment Collective to boycott the “Africans Unite” concert in Tshwane.
The statement reads: “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”
“We do, however, stand behind our decision for the initial inclusion of Burna Boy in the Africans Unite Concert line-up.”
“As one of artists at the centre stage of the xenophobic attacks uproar, we saw fit to engage him to be a part of the Africans Unite campaign that aims to ultimately change the current negative narrative to that of solidarity and unity. It seems we have failed in this regard”.
“As organizers of the Africans Unite Concert, we continue to advocate for unity and peace. Moreover, we condemn any form of discrimination, violence or aggressive behaviour towards any person due to their gender or nationality.”
