Sundaymail Editor
Andrew Moyo
Organisers of the Selmor Mtukudzi & Friends Legacy Tour have decided a postponement citing the xenophobic unrest that has rocked various parts of South Africa in the past weeks.
The tour, which was being organised by Xtratime Entertainment and Mukuru.com, comprised of two gigs, one at the Ekurhuleni Boksburg Hotel in Johannesburg on September 27 and the other at the Mercury Live Concert Venue in Cape Town the following day.
Tongai Mbidzo, of Xtratime Entertainment, said the postponement of the shows was a sad development and hoped the situation would improve.
“There has been unrest in Jo’burg and one of the venues for the show is in East Rand, one of the areas affected by the xenophobic violence,” he said.
“The venue is owned by a Zimbabwean and is also very popular for hosting Zimbabwean events which makes it an easy target for attacks, which meant going ahead with the show at the moment is very risky.
“Cape Town has been peaceful but unfortunately the tour would not be viable if we are to host just a single show in that city alone.”
He added that they are yet to come up with new dates as they monitor the situation which is still tense at the moment.
“We are assessing the situation and once we are certain that things are calm, we will announce new dates which are likely to be in November.
“It’s better to have a show when it is safe so that the artistes and fans are not in danger and also to avoid equipment and infrastructure being destroyed.
“What I should say is that we enjoy hosting Zimbabwean artistes here in SA and will continue doing so but we want to avoid putting lives in danger. For now our followers and supporters should just bear with us as the situation returns to normal.”
The legacy tour is just a continuation of the annual Mukuru Tuku Concerts which have been held in South Africa for the past five years with national hero Oliver Mtukudzi being the headline act.
The organisers had roped in Tuku’s daughters, Selmor and Sandra, to carry on from where the legendary artiste left off, having sold out both venues last year.
Bongani Ndlovu