Fans pack out R Kelly concert

Durban - The anticipated hord nightes of fans did not materialise at King Shaka International Airport, but Durbanites vindicated themselves by appearing en masse at Saturday night’s R Kelly concert at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.

The concert was originally scheduled for March but was postponed due to sluggish ticket sales. This time round, on his third South African visit with the Single Ladies Tour, tickets were all but sold out.

The Sunday Tribune made it to the airport with time to spare and the photographer anticipated having to elbow her way through crowds to get a shot of the megastar, but he was almost entirely eclipsed by an earlier arrival.

Bollywood heartthrob Karan Singh Grover, who stars as Asad on the popular television series Qubool Hai, made his exit from the arrivals hall minutes before Kelly, and a contingent of fans offered an exuberant welcome.

A few stragglers were all that remained to show Kelly a Durban welcome.

It must have been something of an anti-climax for Kelly, who has sold more than 40 million albums with hits including When a Woman is Fed Up, I Believe I Can Fly and I Wish.

Although his career continues to flourish, there are still questions about the singer’s alleged connection to the fraud case involving Durban woman Busisiwe Priscilla Zakwe, 54.

Zakwe was arrested in 2005 for her role in orchestrating an apparent investment scam that fleeced more than 50 people of millions.

Zakwe is accused of promising investors huge returns in the form of revenue from ticket sales if they helped finance Kelly’s first visit to South Africa. She claimed she deposited R10.5 million into Kelly’s account, but he has not been called to stand trial on any charges.

At the time Kelly’s legal team was able to satisfy investigators that the singer was not even using the agent Zakwe had claimed represented him.

Zakwe is out on bail and no date has been set for the resumption of her trial.

Also at on Saturday night’s concert was Lira, and other performers included Mi Casa, Khuli Chana, DJ Lulo Cafe and DJ Cndo.

– Additional information Sapa

Sunday Tribune

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