Johannesburg- Award-winning musician Sjava has cancelled his participation in the Eswatini festival in solidarity with the oppressed citizens of the country.
The artist who was booked to perform at Standard Bank Luju Festival yesterday and today, had initially insisted on showcasing his talent there, despite mounting pressure from the country’s citizens to boycott the show. But in an unexpected move, the artist appeared to have succumbed to pressure and pulled out of the festival on Thursday.
News that Sjava marooned his legion of fans in the kingdom was confirmed by president of the South African Music Industry Council Vusi Leeuw.
Leeuw said he doffed his hat for Sjava for his courage to stand with the powerless and voiceless people of Eswatini in their fight against oppression and for democracy.
“We are behind him and respect him for the decision he has taken. We hope our other fellow artists can lead by the same example,” he said.
According to Bonginkosi Dlamini, the convenor of the United Eswatini Diaspora, the Swazi media had reported that the Mama hitmaker had withdrawn from the concert.
“We have received confirmation that Sjava is standing with the oppressed people of Swaziland, so he is pulling out of the Luju Festival eSwatini.
“We also thank the Swaziland Solidarity Network, an organisation we collaborated with when lobbying the musicians to pull out,” he told Swaziland News website.
Lucky Lukhele, the spokesperson of the Swaziland Solidarity Network welcomed Sjava’s decision.
“First, I would like to thank Sjava for this solidarity gesture without forgetting comrade Mzwakhe Mbuli whom we worked with holding several meetings and lobbying artists to stand in solidarity with the people,” he said.
Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, has been engulfed in a wave of protests for several months after pro-democracy citizens clashed with law enforcement agencies.
This week it was reported that several police officers who were injured during a violent confrontation with citizens did not receive medical attention when they were rushed to hospital as nurses who stood in solidarity with rioters refused to treat them.
Sjava declined to comment.
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