Malian singer and songwriter Salif Keita cancelled his upcoming concerts in South Africa in response to reports of violence directed at migrants, according to his spokesperson. The representative confirmed the decision to AFP on Wednesday, placing the artist's planned commercial appearances on hold amid anti-migrant protests in the country.
Keita set out his position in a statement posted on Facebook on Tuesday. He said he could not disregard reports that other Africans were facing xenophobic violence and described the cancellation as a painful decision. His statement did not identify the dates or venues of the affected shows, leaving the precise scale and scheduling consequences of the withdrawal unspecified.
The singer framed his action as a response to violence rather than a rejection of South Africa. He said he was not shutting the country out permanently, drawing a distinction between South Africa itself and the attacks described in the reports that prompted his decision. He also connected his view of migrants with people seeking employment, security and dignity rather than treating their circumstances solely as a political question.
Keita's statement referred to a South Africa that had stood with Mali and invoked the country associated with Nelson Mandela. That appeal formed part of his explanation for why the reported attacks were at odds with the South Africa he knew. The remarks made the cancellation both a practical change to his performance plans and a public expression of solidarity with migrants.
The decision applies to commercial concerts, but Keita left room for a different kind of engagement. He said he remained willing to perform in non-commercial settings, including townships and other venues where music could support conversation, healing and unity. That exception means the announcement was not a blanket refusal to appear anywhere in South Africa.
Arbiterz described Keita as 76 years old and said his career has spanned 52 years. The publication also reported that he continues to tour, though less often for medical reasons. The cancelled appearances therefore concerned an artist who remains active but whose live schedule is already less frequent.
No replacement plans, revised dates or named non-commercial appearances were included in the account. Without identified venues or performance dates, ticket holders and organisers were not given event-specific information in the reported statement. The central confirmed development on 26 August was Keita's withdrawal from planned commercial shows and his stated willingness to reconsider engagement through spaces focused on dialogue.
For Keita, the boundary was explicit: commercial performances would not proceed under the circumstances he described, while music offered in support of communities could still have a place. His response paired cancellation with a limited opening for future appearances, making opposition to violence—not a permanent break with South African audiences—the defining point of the announcement.
