THE government of Lesotho has banned Zodwa Wabantu.
She was a feature performer at the 1st Annual Jozi Invasion Festival.
Zodwa Wabantu was booked to perform alongside Mzansi actor Christmas from Skeem Saam.
The event will take place on Saturday, 5 August, at Elibo Maseru in Lesotho.
Reasons behind the ban
But the government of Lesotho made it clear that she is not welcomed in their country. The Minister of Home Affairs and Police, Lebona Lephema, wrote a letter to Zodwa Wabantu and the event organisers.
He wrote: "Please be advised that the South African lady known as Zodwa Wabantu, whom you have invited to Lesotho, will be denied entry into the country. Zodwa is known to perform without wearing anything decent in public, the conduct which amounts to public indecency. In terms of our Panel Code Act 2010, Section 56 thereof, a person who creates or take steps in any indecent spectacle or performance, or who does in public or private any indecent act which is calculated to offend any reasonable member of the public, commits a crime. We are not prepared to wait until a crime is committed."
"Apart from the fact that our penal code criminalizes public indecency, Lesotho is a Christian Nation which jealously guards and/or cherishes its Christian values and as a Christian Nation, we are not prepared to compromise our Christian values. It is for those reasons that Miss Zodwa Wabantu will not be permitted to enter the country," said Lephema.
Lesotho not the first to ban Zodwa
Lesotho is not the first country to ban Zodwa. In 2022, Malawi also banned her. At that time, the Malawian government said that she "built her career and fame around morally degrading stage acts which include flaunting her nudity to the audience".
Daily Sun tried to reach out to Zodwa, but could not reach her. Her manager, Terrence Oliphant's phone rang unanswered and did not respond to text messages.
