Popular South African Mbaqanga outfit, the Soul Brothers, failed to perform at Zapu’s 50th anniversary celebrations in Bulawayo on Saturday after its band members were reportedly denied entry into Zimbabwe.
Zapu director of information and publicity for the southern region Methuseli Moyo said the group was barred at the Beitbridge border post even after the party followed all necessary channels to bring the South African band to perform at their event.
Despite that, Moyo said the celebrations were a success.
“We are however disappointed and sorry that a show by the Soul Brothers meant to put icing to the occasion did not take place after members of the group were denied entry into Zimbabwe by the Department of Immigration officers at Beitbridge Border Post,” he said.
“The Soul Brothers’ backing group and instruments arrived at the border post well before midnight on Friday 16 December, and spent more than 12 hours waiting to be cleared to enter Zimbabwe.”
Moyo said Zapu had engaged a “professional, licensed promotions company to process the necessary paperwork for the show as required by the law”.
“We believe the promoter and ourselves did everything humanly possible to fulfill the requirements of the law, but were hard done by what we believe was a sabotage scheme by the usual suspects.
“We find it puzzling that even when we had produced all the necessary documentation to the immigration authorities in Bulawayo and were assured that all was in order, junior immigration officers in Beitbridge still refused to let the band and the instruments enter Zimbabwe, insisting on seeing the documents themselves.”
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Contacted for comment, assistant regional immigration officer in charge of the southern region Charles Gwede yesterday declined to comment on the matter referring questions to his superiors in Harare.
Moyo said Soul Brothers’ lead singer David Masondo managed to enter the country through Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Airport in Bulawayo on Saturday afternoon.
However, he said, Masondo was devastated to learn that his band members were still detained at Beitbridge and were eventually deported back to South Africa in the afternoon.
