Zodwa Wabantu tour cancelled

South African dancer and socialite Zodwa Wabantu's much-anticipated tour of the country was yesterday cancelled on the 11th hour after the artiste and show organisers agreed to move the visit to a later date.

Zodwa Wabantu - born Zodwa Rebecca Libram - was supposed to be at Private Lounge in Harare tonight and Club 263 in Mutare tomorrow, courtesy of Devine Assignments, but she will no longer fulfil her bookings. The controversial socialite - who is known for refusing to wear panties - confirmed the development through a feed on Instagram yesterday.

"I am not going to Zimbabwe," reads the statement. "I won though. South Africa it's home (sic). We make friends with other nations." Divine Assignments officials were not picking calls to their mobile phones yesterday, but a source close to the development said they agreed to cancel the show due to the controversy surrounding her visit.

"They talked to Zodwa and decided to cancel the trip," said the source. "A lot has been said about her visit and it seems they want to stay away from controversy.

"People have been saying different things about her visit since actress Anne Nhira sought to have Zodwa banned from coming to Zimbabwe on moral grounds." Zodwa's planned tour had been under the spotlight since a letter that was attributed to then acting Tourism Minister Patrick Zhuwao in response to Nhira's plea indicated that the South African might not be involved in local festivities.

The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority sought to have Zodwa take part at the ongoing Harare International Carnival, but the Censorship Board stopped the arrangement and only cleared her for private functions by Devine Assignments. Devine Assignments had been marketing the private functions until yesterday's last-minute decision to cancel the trip.