Musa Keys Removed from Zimbabwe Festival Lineup Amid Anti-illegal Immigration Marches in SA

• Musa Keys was removed from a festival in Harare, becoming the second artist to be dropped from a show in Zimbabwe
• The lineup change came amid tensions following South Africa's anti-illegal immigration marches and calls by some Zimbabweans to cancel South African artists
• A South African gospel musician previously announced that he was removed from a Nigerian award ceremony for supporting the anti-illegal immigration marches

South African musician Musa Keys has been dropped from the lineup of an upcoming show in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare. The development comes as Zimbabweans retaliate against anti-illegal immigration protests in South Africa, calling for undocumented foreigners to return to their countries.

Thousands of Zimbabweans voluntarily returned home ahead of the national shutdown on Tuesday, 30 June 2026. Zimbabweans retaliated by calling for South African artists booked to perform in the country to be removed from local events. Among the scalps that were claimed was Musa Keys, who was supposed to headline a festival in Harare.

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Musa Keys dropped from Zimbabwe festival

The team behind the Mighty Zambezi Lager Bonfire Festival, scheduled to take place at Donnybrook Park in Harare on 4 July 2026, gave in to pressure and dropped Musa Keys from the line-up. An updated poster confirms that Musa Keys will no longer be performing at the festival. The festival will now place a stronger emphasis on Zimbabwean artists and local entertainment.

The musicians who will perform at the event, which returns after a four-year hiatus, are ExQ, Tamy Moyo, Takura, Djembe Monks and Wowrae. Neither the festival organisers nor Musa Keys had publicly commented on the change at the time of publishing.

SA reacts after Musa Keys gets dropped from Zim concert

The removal of Musa Keys from a Zimbabwean concert sparked further discussions online.

Here are some of the comments:

@ImFrankmiles remarked:

“You see, it doesn't help them to keep quiet either. So, it's up to the South African artists to choose whether they want to stand with us who supported them when no one knew about them, or they wanna be international 🤷🏿‍♂️🤷🏿‍♂️🤷🏿‍♂️ it's really up to them now.”

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@_MGLKD_ said:

“It’s fine, it’s a Zim event; it can have an all-Zim lineup. It’s time they build themselves too. SA artists will do just fine without Zim concerts.”

@uSiyasigisa proposed:

“Good, they will learn to stand for something. South Africans must also boycott any event that has these spineless people in the lineup.”

@sollybid remarked:

“Good, if they were going to perform in Zim illegally. But if they were removed because of deporting illegal Zimbabweans, you are far from holding your leaders accountable.”

Mafikizolo dropped from Zimbabwe show

In a similar development, multi-award-winning duo Mafikizolo were officially axed from the upcoming Buddie Beatz Concert in Victoria Falls following massive public backlash in Zimbabwe.

The removal follows an online campaign by Zimbabwean youth who warned the Hamba Nawe hitmakers that they were not welcome in the country and threatened to shut down the event. The hostility mirrors the intense anti-illegal immigration sentiment brewing across South Africa ahead of a highly publicised nationwide shutdown organised by civic groups.

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SA musician dropped from Nigerian awards

Meanwhile, Briefly News also reported that South African gospel musician Ntokozo Ngongoma was removed from the CLIMA Africa Awards after supporting the marches against illegal immigration.

The musician shared screenshots of the post that he claims got him removed from the awards, as well as a response by the CLIMA Africa Awards.

Source: Briefly News