Musician Lira has spoken out to clarify her absence at the Cultural Urban Festival Africa (Cufa) on October 11, after fans expressed disappointment.
Lira, known for hits like Feel Good and Believer, was expected to perform at the Woman to Woman show alongside Kelly Khumalo and Zonke. However, when she didn’t take the stage, Cufa organizers released a statement, apologizing for her absence and citing “unforeseen personal matters.”
The statement read: “She completed her sound check at 17:30 on Friday evening and was on-site, fully prepared to perform at 19:30. However, due to unforeseen personal matters, she had to leave the event urgently.”
Unhappy with this explanation, Lira took to Instagram to set the record straight. “The statement issued by the Woman to Woman team regarding my non-performance at the Cufa Festival… is not correct,” she stated.
She explained that the organizers were informed ahead of time that her ongoing recovery from a stroke meant she couldn’t perform late at night. “The promoters were informed… that due to still being in recovery, they should be respectful of the fact that I can’t perform late at night,” she said. “We left the venue at 9.35pm due to the event running late.”