RISQUE entertainer, Zodwa Wabantu yesterday said the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) should not have invited her for the Harare International Carnival if they wanted her to “cover the essentials” against her style.
Daily Sun/Arts Reporter
“They invited me knowing what I wear and how I perform in public,” fumed the 32-year-old star.
“Who are they to change me? They are really out of line. I have worked hard all of my life to establish myself as a brand and they can’t change who I am. How did they invite me, knowing what I do and how I dress would offend them? They should have left me alone. I’m really not happy. They are out of their minds.”
Zodwa’s outburst followed the announcement by ZTA corporate affairs manager, Sugar Chagonda during a media briefing that she must compromise on her dressing to avoid upsetting chiefs and traditional leaders attending the jamboree.
“She is going to be one of the star attractions at the Samba night on 6 September. She’s popular in the region and through her we want to target regional tourists,” Chagonda said.
Earlier, Karikoga Kaseke, the ZTA’s chief executive officer, told journalists at a Press conference in Zimbabwe that: “I hope she will have her panties on. If she cannot perform in panties, then we don’t want her because chiefs and traditional leaders won’t like it.”
Zodwa, however, described their instruction as demotivating and said her rights as a woman were being abused.
