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Tafadzwa Zimoyo Senior Arts Reporter
ORGANISERS of the outdoor event, Unplugged, were forced to enlist the services of South African rapper, Khuli Chana, at the eleventh  hour after Nigerian singer Ebisan failed to acquire a visa to travel into the country.

Ebisan was billed to share the stage with local musicians — Takura, Diana Samkange and Mbeu — at an event held on Saturday at Greendale Sports Club in Harare.

Initially, organisers of the Unplugged had marketed the show with Ebisan as their drawcard, but revellers were shocked to see Khuli Chana taking to the stage on the day of the event.

The change left many questions unanswered: Did the organisers sell a dummy to fans or they bowed down to social media remarks that Ebisan was little known and not fit for the event?

In an interview with The Herald Arts, one of the organisers, Chiedza Danha, refuted claims that Ebisan was not popular in Zimbabwe.

“Firstly, Ebisan is not a gospel artiste as was being said on social media.

“That rumour circulated on Twitter. She is a pop artiste signed to the same label with Burna Boy. She is of the same calibre (with Burna Boy), and she is causing waves in West Africa. It will not be long before she is a household name here in Zimbabwe. All was in order for her to come, including work permits, tickets and payments. Unfortunately, she failed to secure her visa on time,” she said.

Danha claimed Chana was among the list of performers at the event, although he was not on the poster.

“The South African rapper was billed to perform. However, we were legally unable to advertise the artistes until all National Arts Council of Zimbabwe clearances were met. In fact, the initial line-up included both artistes,” she said.

However, some were left spoilt for choice after another almost similar event, CookOut ZW, was held on the following day at Palm Estate in Greystone Park. People went on social media saying the two events should have been spaced out for budgeting purposes, as some wanted to attend both events.

Organisers of both events said they were not affected by sharing the same weekend.

“The CookOut announced their date quite a bit after us. They were initially due to be in Gweru this weekend, but we are not sure what necessitated their change of venue. The market is big for us,” said Danha.

Asked to comment over the issue CookOut ZW co-founder Donavan ‘PrayerSoul’ Mutamangira said they were not affected as they have regular fans who attend the event.

“There are people who attend Unplugged, but do not attend CookOut and vice versa. I do not see it as a problem .

“It is also about location and income on the day. We are growing our demographics. Our numbers have been increasing,” he said.