By Charles Mgbolu
Kenyan music star Nyamari Ongegu, known by fans as Nyashinski, has pulled out of the upcoming USA Madaraka Festival 2024 after a failed visa application process for his “team’’.
In a message posted on social media on Sunday evening, Nyashinski, who won the East Africa Acts Entertainment Awards in 2022, said he would not be performing despite the efforts of the festival organisers to secure visas for his team’s entry into the United States.
“We had very much looked forward to the tour, and we sincerely apologise for all the inconvenience this has caused,” Nyashinski's statement read in part.
The Madaraka Festival is a festival of African music, culture, and community organised across cities in the US.
The 2024 edition, which is its 10th, is scheduled to kick off in Dallas on May 25th and hold a grand finale in Seattle on June 17th and 18th.
According to organisers Nyashinski headlines the event with Ugandan singer Eddy Kenzo and Cameroonian singer Naomi Achu.
Others are South-Sudanese reggae-dancehall artist Dynamq and Kenyan singer and drummer Savara.
It is unclear at this time if the other artists billed to perform have visas to travel.
''Their loss''
In their reaction, fans have criticised the US embassy in Kenya for failing to issue visas to Nyashinski and his team.
‘’Being a third-world country will always affect us, no matter what we do. Anyway, their loss,’’ wrote a fan, Roman Bomu, on Instagram.
Nyashinski has not had past issues about travelling to the United States; he has performed in several cities and has lived there for 10 years during hiatus.
He returned to Kenya in 2016 to continue his pursuit of music.
Long line of visa denials
African artists have often had difficulties obtaining visas to perform in countries in Europe, with no clear reasons given for such denial.
This has often led to online outbursts by artists.
In January 2023, Emma Nzioka, a Kenyan performer and DJ known as Coco Em, was supposed to perform in Cape Verde and was billed to travel through the Netherlands.
But Coco was denied a transit visa, leading to an uproar from her fans online.
Another African act, Afropop star Yemi Alade from Nigeria, was denied a Schengen visa in January 2023.
In 2022, Alade was also denied a Canadian visa for the International Africa Nights festival.
In 2019, two Tanzanian artists, DJ Duke and MCZO, were denied a visa to the US.
Fans have slammed these acts, calling them a total “disregard for African artists.”
➤ Click here to follow our WhatsApp channel for more stories.
