The 2016 Kora All Africa Awards that were supposed to be held in the Namibian capital Windhoek were cancelled early this month, according to media reports. Sources close to the developments told media that the cancellation of the awards followed a high-level meeting between the Namibian government and Kora founder Ernest Andjovi.
According to the online newspaper Oshili, Andjovi allegedly requested the event to be moved during the meeting that was attended by Attorney General Sacky Shanghala, Tourism Minister Pohamba Shifeta, Namibia Tourism Board (NTB) chief executive Digu Naobeb.
The ceremony was scheduled for March 20 at the Windhoek Country Club, Resort and Casino.
The Namibian Sun reported that the meeting was convened to discuss the status of the ceremony that had sparked public outrage because the government allegedly spent millions on it.
It earlier emerged that the Andjovi has been coercing the Namibian government to bankroll his awards to the tune of N$70 million (about US$4.5 million) while he refused to disclose to the authorities how much he will invest in the event.
Some public entities, including NTB, were forced to fork out millions. The NTB was allegedly forced, with blessing from Minister Shifeta, to transfer its entire marketing budget totalling N$21 million to the Kora organisers.
Source: Starafrica.com
