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REPS: WE’VE NOTHING TO DO WITH LAZWIDE’S CROSSOVER NO-SHOW

03/01/2023 09:25:00 Nonduduzo Kunene

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MANZINI - The police have distanced themselves from allegations that they were behind LaZwide’s no-show at the Yiba Nemusa Simakadze Crossover, which was held at Mavuso Trade and Exhibition Centre in Manzini.

This came after the popular Gospel artist’s management team issued a statement clarifying why the artist, who is also Siphofaneni Member of Parliament (MP), Nomalungelo Simelane, did not show up for the crossover. The event was held from December 31, 2022 until January 1, 2023. The MP, also known by her stage name ‘LaZwide’, was one of the artists who were billed to perform. Her addition to the line-up drew the attention of many, to an extent that Gospel fans who attended the crossover event were eager to see her perform. Throughout the event, the fans randomly shouted her name and sang her songs. Gospel fans waited patiently throughout the night until 5am on Sunday. They started enquiring about LaZwide’s whereabouts and if she would be performing.

Tricks

“They should stop playing tricks and be frank about LaZwide’s performance,” said one of the fans, who said he came from Mahlabaneni in the Lubombo Region just to see his favourite artist perform. Around the time when the Gospel lovers started speculating that their favourite artist might not perform, artists such as Siphiwo Ndlangamadla, known for his hit single Tive Temhlaba, was on stage. After Ndlangamandla’s performance, the organisers assured the attendees that more artists were still on their way and one of them was Sipho Makhabane. Before Makhabane performed, the organisers tried to keep the Gospel lovers entertained by playing Mduduzi Nezinceku Zamagawugawu’s songs. Eventually Makhabane took to the stage at around 5:20am and performed for not more than 20 minutes. Chaos erupted after his performance.

Demanded

The fans started uttering strong words, which were directed to the organisers. The fans demanded LaZwide’s performance. At about 5:44am, the organisers relayed the bad news to the fans that LaZwide would not be performing. The fans shouted to the organisers, enquiring about the whereabouts of LaZwide. Some stated that the reason they attended the show was because they wanted to see her perform since that could have brought the ‘Gawuzela’ spirit to the crossover, which they dearly missed. “I wouldn’t have attended the crossover without ‘Gawuzela’, but after learning that umkhokheli will be performing, I bought the ticket,” said another fan. As they were shouting, they were also pushing the security personnel with the aim of reaching the stage, where one of the organisers was trying to explain why LaZwide did not show up.

The fans stepped on the fence between the stage, and the crowd while still pushing the security guards who were trying to stop them from crossing to the stage. Some were falling after they tried to step on the fence while shouting ‘sifuna LaZwide la’, meaning; we want LaZwide here. The pushing and shouting went on for slightly over 10 minutes until they gave up and started demanding refunds from the organisers as they felt robbed. Umlilo Management on Sunday issued a statement in which it mentioned that LaZwide did not perform during the crossover because the organisers had been allegedly instructed by the police to cancel the artist from the line-up. Umlilo is a music stable that manages LaZwide. The crossover event was organised by Kufeziwe Communications.

According to Umlilo Management Public Relations Officer (PRO) Zweli Simelane, the management team was called by the event organisers on Saturday afternoon and they were informed that the police had allegedly instructed them not to allow LaZwide to perform during the event. “LaZwide was then advised by the management responsible for her welfare and safety during performances to comply as requested by the event organisers,” Simelane said in a statement. However, the police have denied the allegations. Deputy Police Information and Communications Officer Inspector Nosipho Mnguni said the police had nothing to do with crossover line-up. “How can the police dictate who should perform in people’s events?” she wondered.

Mnguni said the police did not hold a meeting with any event organisers, including Kufeziwe Communications, and ordered them to remove some artists from their line-up. She said their job was to provide security and ensure that people were safe and prevent crime. She said when police attended an event, it was solely for security reasons and to prevent criminal activity, not dictate on line-ups. Mnguni said they were wondering who misled her stable because the police definitely had nothing to do with her non-performance. She said the event organisers and Umlilo Management should simply state the real reson that led to LaZwide cancelling her performance at the last minute and not use police as a shield. Mnguni further said they (police) were not taking this issue lightly and they would take the necessary action against those making the allegations.