Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday Life Reporter
LAST Saturday evening, as the Bulawayo Sneaker Expo entered its twilight hours, some revellers could be heard contemplating where they would be going next.
The expo was set to be wrapped up at 10pm and with their pulses racing after yet another exhilarating exhibition, many were now contemplating their options. The night was still young and could not just end at that early hour.
However, there was a major problem. News had already started to filter in from those in the know that South Africa’s Stunna would not make the stage at the ZITF that night.
For some, this was merely a rumour not to be taken seriously.
The organisers of the Young Stunna gig were insisting that the gig was on, with the artiste even spotted at the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport, according to sources. If one was to believe the promoters, all was still well.
In truth, this was only half the story. Sources close to the promoters had already indicated to Sunday Life at that time that Young Stunna, although he had landed in Bulawayo, had not left the vicinity of the airport. In fact, unhappy at the fact that three members of his entourage had been denied entry into the country over work permit issues, the amapiano hitmaker decided to also make his way back to South Africa.
“On arrival at Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport, the group had additional members who were not issued with a Temporary Employment Permit (TEP), namely, Nkosi Nkululeko, Makhanye Sithembele Guys and Gaxeni Nikon Michael. The three additional members who were not on the TEP were refused entry into the country. The non-compliant members were not deported but were not allowed to come into the country. In sympathy with his crew, Young Stunna opted to go back to South Africa,” explained Lucky Joe Matyora, Bulawayo Region’s acting regional immigration officer in the Department of Immigration Zimbabwe.
According to the source that spoke to Sunday Life, in desperation, organisers had allegedly tried to negotiate with the country’s immigration officials, who would have none of it, as they decided to enforce the letter of the law.
As evening approached on a heat-soaked day in Bulawayo, the organisers were already fairly certain that Young Stunna would not be setting foot on stage in Bulawayo. Despite this, they decided to go ahead, letting revellers enter the venue in droves, as they sought to make a tidy sum from gate takings with or without Young Stunna.
The show promoter, Godknows Dube, of course had a different version of events.
“Young Stunna was already at the venue when the fracas ensued. I had gone to town to run some errands and then got a call that there was crowd trouble with uncontrollable, rowdy elements unrelenting. There was no way he could perform in such a hostile environment so this led to the abrupt, but ugly end to the show,” he said.
Thus, the violence that ensued at the venue was a convenient excuse. After all, Young Stunna had pending issues with Bulawayo fans after walking off stage prematurely last year following a few technical issues. Everyone went home happy, with their money safely tucked into their pockets. Everyone, except the fans, who paid for a performance that never was.
While the gig did not go according to plan, it had already caused significant rifts within showbiz circles in Bulawayo, as some felt that it provided an unnecessary counter-attraction to the Sneaker Expo, which had been advertised months before. In fact, some accused organisers of the Young Stunna gig of seeking to ride on the popularity of the expo, as it finished earlier.
The two major shows held in one day last Saturday continued a tradition in Bulawayo that has left many promoters tearing out their hair in frustration.
“I think people just enjoy competing and flexing that they have more money to book a bigger or better artiste,” said popular wheel spinner DJ Prince Eskhosini. “It’s something I have been failing to understand and it’s been going on for some time now. I wouldn’t say it’s profitable because it’s the same as splitting a crowd and one of two will always run a loss.
“Promoters need to find a way of working together and for the new promoters, I think sometimes it’s lack of knowledge and the fact that they are being helped or seeking advice from the wrong people. These people are only after money and they don’t care if your event flops or not. With good timing it’s possible to have two or more successful events. With that being said, some promoters’ intention is to sabotage,” he said.
Dalubuhle Sibanda of Umahlekisa Entertainment said the issue of scheduling shows on the same day was now so widespread and no one seemed to have any idea how to stop it.
“In a bigger economy, this really shouldn’t be a problem because variety is always welcome. You can have so many different shows happening in different places and should not affect the bottom-line. However, in places like ours where you have a limited number of people that attend events it is constraining and frustrating.
“The main cause of this is that few people actually do research into what goes into the making a good show so they just ride on the wave of people that are known to choose good dates or people that are actually take the risk of going first. It’s quite frustrating actually because you put up a calendar three months before the show and you start doing marketing then someone comes three weeks before and starts pushing their own show hard on the same date,” he said.
However, Sibanda acknowledged that more competition amongst promoters had elevated the standards at shows in the city.
“I feel like having multiple shows has its own merits. Traditionally, we haven’t given our patrons value for money when they come to our shows. When you have competition, you are forced to improve. The quality of the shows has improved. When we talk VIP, it looks like a proper VIP and almost at every show you find stalls that have proper food and the pricing is getting better. We have more flair and I think we can attribute it to the competition that is in the market,” he said.