Times Of Swaziland: SA HEAVYWEIGHTS TURN DOWN LOCAL GIGS

SA HEAVYWEIGHTS TURN DOWN LOCAL GIGS
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Nombuso Dlamini on 16/11/2022 08:31:00


MBABANE- – Great concern.
Promoters have raised their concern over the current political tension in
Eswatini, which has resulted in some artists turning down event offers.
As the festive season is upon us, most fun lovers are anticipating a serious
fun-filled season, but given the current political state, it seems to be a
distant dream. Various event promoters have revealed that they have cancelled
events they anticipated to host this festive season, because of international
artists who are flagged by the political uncertainty in the kingdom. DJ
Speedsta, Yung Swiss, Gigi, and Nasty C are among the South African artists who
were supposed to come to the kingdom over the festive season, but have allegedly
turned down offers because of the security uncertainty in Eswatini.
Tension
The kingdom has been going through political tension from June 2021. The
immediate alleged cause of the protests was when three pro-democracy Members of
Parliament (MPs) advocated for the introduction of a more democratic system. In
addition, the death of a university student under mysterious circumstances in
May led to suspicions that the police had allegedly killed him. Subsequent
protests at that time, which were supported by opposition legislators also led
to a state of preexisting tension. The first protests took place on  June 20,
when the youth in the Manzini Region went through a village shouting political
slogans and calling for the right to a democratically chosen prime minister. 
They blocked roads and set tires on fire. Police reacted to these demonstrations
by deploying stun grenades and firing live bullets, leading to protesters
retaliating by throwing stones and the likes.
The protests spread and escalated into violence on June 25, in most towns such
as Msunduza township, near Mbabane, as demonstrators ‘clashed’ with police
and stores were looted and torched. As thousands of people delivered petitions
to tinkhundla authorities, who are democratically appointed in a ‘devolved’
system, the government stopped them from being delivered, raising controversy
from the national teachers union and leading to further tension.
Attacks
The current situation has raised anxiousness among people, because of the rising
arson attacks, shootings and the likes between unknown people and soldiers. This
has affected many businesses even the entertainment sector. Promoters have
shared that they were worried about the events they were planning, also on how
they would go about calling people out of the comfort and safety of their homes
to the unknown. The mentioned artists had been approached for shows in the
kingdom and they chose not to respond on why they did not take the offers. An
artist who chose to remain anonymous through a local event promoter shared that
they as artists had various reasons for turning down the offers and why they
couldn’t speak up.
“As an artist in South Africa, I’m not really invested in what is happening
in other countries, until I am invited .
“We can’t walk blindly into a situation where one could essentially be
unsafe and I can’t say ‘hey Eswatini your country isn’t safe’ because I
would be boycotted for having an opinion that concerns me,” was a view from
one of the artists. For safety reasons, all the interviewed parties won’t be
revealed but are known by this publication, to avoid prejudice from the public.
Most promoters mentioned how they were not going to risk people’s lives all in
the name of fun, but it was something that was seriously affecting their means
of income and a business that had been revived after the COVID -19 pandemic.