By Henry Chulu & Sam Banda Jnr:
The act of no show by Congolese soukous star Awilo Longomba for a concert at Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe on Saturday left musician Lawi and his squad disappointed.
It frustrated Lawi in that it came after Awilo had promised to offer the best during the concert in a video and it also came after he apologised to people for his no show in December last year.
Lawi and team had initially set December 2022 for this concert, only for Awilo, famed for hits such as ‘Karolina’, not to show up before they settled for Saturday.
Awilo was expected to jet into the country on Thursday but never showed up despite Lawi’s team making all the necessary payments, which hit over K15 million.
“We have learnt a bitter lesson from Awilo’s failure to honour the agreement we had. We pledge to trade with utmost precaution in future to prevent such a disappointing occurrence again moving forward,” Lawi said in a statement and apologised to the people and stakeholders.
But people in the country understood the situation and gave Lawi full support on social media, with many hitting out at the Congolese star, who last performed in the country in 2017 during Sand Music Festival in Salima, where he offered an unimpressive performance.
And for the love of supporting fellow artists, Patience Namadingo presented himself at the 11th hour and announced that he would perform with his band free-of-charge including unveiling a surprise track in which he collaborated with Lawi.
And come Saturday night, in what seemed like an act of revenge, fun seekers thronged BICC in large numbers in a dinner and dance concert with an all home-grown cast of Lawi and Namadingo.
In solidarity, Mitengeli Choir, which featured Namadingo in their track ‘Ndalama’, also joined the cast and they were the first to hit the stage.
Namadingo was next and he upped the tempo of the concert and performed for close to an hour, dishing out songs such as ‘Sinjenjemera’ before paving the way for Lawi.
Lawi, as the main man, armed with his guitar continued from where Namadingo had left off and served a number of songs before the two later collaborated in a song.
“Sometimes we have worries, especially where you experience challenges, but God has His own way of saving us. The show was a success and I am grateful to Namadingo and everyone who supported this concert including ministers; it was very nice and the joy and mood was so uplifting,” Lawi, who was in a black attire, said.
The climax was even appetising when Minister of Health Khumbidze Kandodo Chiponda and Minister of Agriculture Sam Kawale offered K100,000 each for the two artists to perform four songs.
