Babes Wodumo: What really happened?

Bruce Ndlovu
Big Nuz and Babes Wodumo missed their flight from East London so theya��re not able to come to Bulawayo a�� this was the official line from XMO Squada��s Vusumuzi Siqalaba after news that this yeara��s main Kalawa Homecoming Act, Babes Wodumo would not be gracing the event started making the rounds.

The news was a hammer blow, as Bulawayo party lovers had been prepping themselves up for the debut appearance in Bulawayo of the woman who has captured the imagination of all and sundry this past year.

Her hit, Wololo saw a Babes Wodumo fever grip the City of Kings, with word on the street saying that it was a no brainer that the beloved Babes had to be a part of this yeara��s festivities.

Alas, this did not come to pass.

Many were left bewildered as they wondered how the woman who had been slated to be the main performer had somehow missed her flight for the all important gig.

In such a situation, it was only a matter of time before Bulawayo was abuzz with conspiracy theories from people who claimed to know what had really happened to the Mampitshaa��s beau. The conspiracies themselves, when they came, ranged from the ridiculous to the hilarious to the somewhat credible.

On social media, some touted the idea that Babes had a fear of flying. According to rumour mongers, Babes could not travel to Zimbabwe because she has a mortal fear of heights and thus had decided to abscond on the eve of her scheduled flight.

Those with an inclination towards humour claimed that Babes did not appear because, as a new performer she did not have a passport and thus could not travel to South Africa.

However, amid the clatter of these humorous and ridiculous suggestions were a few morsels of possible truth.

Some claimed that Babes and the organisers had known beforehand that she would not be travelling to Zimbabwe, hence the silence on her social media pages which are usually filled with announcements of shows in the new future.

Others pointed out the fact that her absence raised a stink, considering that the newly crowned Mzansia��s Sexiest Woman had notified her fans back in October before the Kalawa line-up was announced that she was fully booked until February. A few days before the show, some of the citya��s artistes had also been spreading the rumour on social media that the West Ink signee would not be attending this yeara��s show.

With all these conspiracy theories about the Wololo hit-maker spreading like wildfire, it would not be amiss for one to ask, a�?what really happened to Babes Wodumo?a�?.