Sho Madjozi, real name Maya Christinah Xichavo Wegerif says it was clear that the issue of xenophobia in South Africa was being used more as a marketing ploy by the organisers of the “Africa Unite” concert than as a way to effect real change.
And there’s no Africans Unite Concert taking place in South Africa!
“…it is also a problem to say people were murdered when they were not. Truth does matter.
On Wednesday she took to social media to say that was her worry when she declined to perform at an event that will be headlined by Burna Boy.
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“That was my worry when I declined to perform. Just from the headline act they chose, it was clear that they wanted a controversial figure more than someone, eg Wizkid, who was engaged in the issue in a constructive way. As we got closer to the day, the concert was generating even more hostility than unity and the organizers were doing nothing about it,” says Sho Madjozi.
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Sho Madjozi says that was further proof that xenophobia was just a way for them (organisers) to make money. Which is disheartening for those who genuinely believe in a united Africa.
“Let me just say that Xenophobic attitudes are too widespread in SA and it is a problem. However, it is also a problem to say people were murdered when they were not. Truth does matter.
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“How much damage did it do to African unity when several Nigerian artists claimed Nigerians were being killed in their numbers here when they were not? It has to be cleared up. And asking people to accept this misinformation because of the lawlessness that did happen is not going to work. No one will agree to plead guilty to murder because they did something else wrong. No one will say they killed someone again today because they did so years ago,” says Sho Madjozi.
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She says it is also a problem and super ironic to threaten to physically attack someone (AKA) in the name of ending violence.
“To then have an artist who has done both of the above booked without taking any of that back shows the organizers were not at all engaged with the actual issue at hand. But we will overcome this stupidity. African artists do so much to unite the content all the time without the umbrella of a corporate money-making trick,” says Sho Madjozi.
“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. 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,” reads a joint statement by Phambili Media and Play Network Africa.
It was so clear that the issue of xenophobia in South Africa was being used more as a marketing ploy by the organizers of the “Africa Unite” concert than as a way to effect real change.
— #JohnCena (@ShoMadjozi) November 20, 2019
