Zimdancehall music star Hwinza had a distressing experience in CapeTown this past weekend where he was billed to perform at 2 venues.
It sounds like drama or fiction but according to the victims and eyewitnesses this is how it unfolded.
Hwinza was on flight from Johannesburg with a promoter named Royce heading to CapeTown for 2 shows. Upon arrival at the CapeTown International Airport, the 2 were ambushed by men driving 2 vehicles, they forced the promoter into their vehicle whilst they also tried to get Hwinza to go with them.Hwinza & his manager successfully sneaked out of the situation and headed towards a different location unknown to the men. The man who were following them are well known criminals who run a syndicate targeting Zim organised events in CapeTown and it's surrounding areas. They are known as the security team for the CapeTown Promoters Association.
According to one account of details, each promoter nomatter where you come from in South Africa, you have to pay a fee of a certain amount for your show to go on smoothly, which in many cases is considered *"Protection Fees", a form of extortion.In this case the promoter is said to have been asked to pay an amount before he touched down CapeTown but he did not comply. .
Whilst held hostage at the airport, Royce the promoter withdrew R3000 and gave it to them but it was not enough for them to let go. They demanded R20 000 ,an amount that was far fetching from his reach considering he organised the events weeks before,all expenses covered from his pocket.
Another EFT was made to try add to that amount but it still didn't reach the target. They drove off with the guy in the car to the venue in Strand, demanded extra cash from the venue which amounted to an approximate of R5500.
They also drove to CapeTown CBD where his last show was slated for, collecting gate takings and selling tags pocketing all the money. At this venue it is were Hwinza broke down on Stage, tried to explain what he was going through to his many fans who had gathered for the show (See Video in Comments)
Hwinza's manager was manhandled during the early hours of Monday morning, accused of hiding Hwinza away from them.
The promoter was later on released and went into hiding before getting a flight out of CapeTown together with Hwinza and his manager.
One of the members of the CapeTown Promoters Association rebuked the actions by these people, saying it's killing our industry that is thriving to compete with local event organisers. Another member also spoke highly of the gang's action, siding with them saying "they are protecting our legacy, no promoter should just come from nowhere and use our space without paying and following protocols
