South African musician Makhadzi’s love-hate relationship with Zimbabwe continues, after she recently walked off stage less than five minutes into her set after a concert goer threw a bottle at her.
Makhadzi was performing at the Kadoma Music Festival, held at the Odyssey over the weekend.
Also on the bill for that show was Jah Prayzah, Alick Macheso and Winky D, who Makhadzi also recently clashed with in the UK, much to the ire of his Zimbabwean fans.
In a video circulating on social media, Makhadzi is interrupted in the middle of her routine by a bottle which is flung from the crowd. Makhadzi had been on stage less than five minutes when the missile was tossed towards her.
Okay guys, bye-bye. Thank you very much,” she said as she walked off the stage.
As the crowd grumbled at her sudden desire to leave the stage, Makhadzi is heard saying she cannot continue to perform when things are being thrown on-stage.
“No, but you can’t throw bottles here. You can’t do that, thank you.”
In the same video, Makhadzi is seen backstage with her manager, Maphuti Mothapo, and Zimbabwean producer Mr Brown (Lynol Siwela), surrounded by security and others believed to be the event promoters.
In an interview with City Press, Mathapo said Makhadzi had decided to walk away because she did not feel secure. The singer later returned to finish her set.
“The reason she got off the stage was safety issues. We spoke with the promoters, and they guaranteed us safety and provided more security during her performance. After that, the performance was great. She performed a full set for an hour,” she said.
On social media, some interpreted Makhadzi’s decision to walk away as evidence that there was still lingering ill-feelings over a recent tour, which saw her express her disgruntlement with Winky D.
Makhadzi complained that she had to share 40 minutes with another artist (Jah Prayzah), which led to her performing for 10 minutes after Winky D took to the stage for an hour and a half.
“That whole show was planned to promote certain artists with our names. It’s not a secret that people bought tickets because of me and Jah Prayzah.
“They forced me to go to the BBC; I obliged. I promoted the show; people bought tickets at the last minute, and they were sold out,” she said.
Discover more from Nehanda Radio
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
