Sjava pulls out of Eswatini concert over King Mswati allegations

Sjava has obliged with his Eswatini fans by officially withdrawn from a planned performance in the country due to civil unrest.

The South African star was scheduled to perform at the Standard Bank Luju Food and Lifestyle Festival this weekend.

However fans appealed to the Umcebo hitmaker to cancel his concert, organised by the Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) Royal Family, due to the recent spate of deaths in the country.

SJAVA ‘STANDS WITH PEOPLE OF ESWATINI’

The Swaziland News reports that Sjava has stepped down from his performance in “solidarity with the people of Eswatini”.

Eswatini is facing a political crisis after dozens of civilians were killed after allegedly challenging the monarch, King Mswati III, after demanding democratic reforms.

Bonginkosi IB Dlamini of NGO United Eswatini Diaspora said: “We have received the confirmation that Sjava is standing with the oppressed people of Swaziland, so he is pulling out of the Luju Festival eSwatini.

“We would like to thank Sjava and his team and Vusi Leeuw,the President of the Music Association in South Africa.”

Lucky Lukhele, the spokesperson of the Swaziland Solidarity Network also praised Sjava for his stance. He said: “I would like to thank Sjava for this solidarity gesture”.

ALSO READ: Three’s a crowd…but not for Sjava who just posted all of his wives [photos]

LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO STEP IN AS REPLACEMENT

Despite Sjava pulling out, the festival announced that SA act Ladysmith Black Mambazo would be taking his place. Mafikizolo will also be performing.

A statement on their Facebook page read: “The festival will take place with a powerful line-up of artists….Now they are joined by beloved South African legends Ladysmith Black Mambazo, alongside already confirmed crowd favourite, Mafikizolo.

“It is with disappointment that we announce Sjava will no longer be performing at the festival. However, Luju will go ahead with a stellar line-up of artists and artisans, in the spirit of unity with Eswatini’s creative and cultural sectors.”

Sjava has yet to address the reports on his own social media pages.