Salif Keita Threatens Tamba Events With Defamation Lawsuit

LOCAL music promotions company Tamba Events has been threatened with legal action by Malian music legend Salif Keita over defamation allegations. Tamba Events, which is owned by Nigel Chinovhiringa, ignited a potential legal row after claiming it had tied down Salif Keita for a show in May before Ecobank swooped in with its Intotal Band Legends Night concert scheduled for September 26. The promotions company is seeking legal action against Ecobank Zimbabwe, the sponsors of Keita's concert with Intotal Band. Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn In response, Salif Keita denied any association with Tamba Events for a May concert. "I hereby state that we have not been in any conversation with Tamba Events regarding a show in Harare, Zimbabwe, in May 2026. "If Tamba Events had been in contact with anyone from our team, it would not grant the rights to make any statements or publications, as our contracts are always negotiated confidentially. "Please note that in the case that Salif Keita had performed in Harare in May, our exclusivity for any country is generally three months before and after a date, unless otherwise agreed in the contract," read the statement from Salif Keita. Salif Keita challenged Chinovhiringa and his company to produce contracts that show any agreements for a concert in Harare, threatening legal action against the company. "We demand to be presented with any contracts that Tamba Events claims to have made for Salif Keita. "We will take legal action against Tamba Events for defaming the name of Salif Keita, Ecobank and Intotal Band. "We demand an official apology and a public withdrawal of the false claims," read the statement. Clocking 11 years since his last performance in Zimbabwe, the legal row is not exactly how Salif Keita would have wanted to be entangled. Tamba Events, which had a disastrous Sunshine City Festival, which it was forced to cancel in May, insisted on its position and accused Salif Keita of dishonesty. "However, following the statement issued on 17 September 2026 characterising Tamba Events' claims as 'false', our hand has been forced to correct the public record and protect our reputation. "Tamba has contemporaneous correspondence concerning the proposed May 2026 Harare performance through salifkeitamanagement@gmail.com, an email address displayed on Salif Keita's verified Facebook page, as shown in the accompanying screen recording. Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy . We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. "We therefore stand by the factual basis of our position and demand a retraction and apology for the statements made about Tamba Events," read a statement from Tamba Events. Read the original article on New Zimbabwe . AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 90 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals , representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica . To address comments or complaints, please Contact us . AllAfrica is a voice of, by and about Africa - aggregating, producing and distributing 600 news and information items daily from over 90 African news organizations and our own reporters to an African and global public. We operate from Cape Town, Dakar, Abuja, Johannesburg, Nairobi and Washington DC. Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox By submitting above, you agree to our privacy polic