Lloyd Cele hopeful peace will be restored in Phoenix
Former Phoenix resident Lloyd Cele says that "the black and Indian community always supported each other and worked together as a family".
Singer Lloyd Cele is 'spreading some positivity and hope' following the unrest in South Africa last month.
The former 'Idols SA' contestant says he is particularly sending his love to his family and friends in Phoenix, North of Durban.
Racial tensions between black and Indian people flared up in the community following the week-long riots in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
Lloyd is confident that peace will be restored in Phoenix. "The black and Indian community always supported each other and worked together as a family. These tensions will soon pass and the community will be restored,” he told ANA.
The 'Hero' singer grew up in KwaMashu's K-Section but later moved to Phoenix - where he met his wife Janice.
They met during a youth gathering in Phoenix in 2003. They started out as friends, but he was always attracted to the kind and caring guitar player.
"It took me two years to ask her on a date. I was too scared," he told the Post in a 2016 interview.
The couple, who got married in 2007, have three children together; Zoey, Levi, and Kingsley.
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Lloyd told his Instagram followers that he was spreading hope by sharing his thoughts on the tension in Phoenix.
"Spreading some positivity and hope towards all my family and friends from #phoenix #kwamashu and all surrounding areas which have been affected by the riot(sic)."
Many of his followers applauded him for his remarks.
"Thank you Lloyd for this, when we were growing up our parents taught us to have love and respect for everyone and today we are teaching our kids the same," one Instagram user wrote.
Another user added: "Love and respect and we all can live in harmony, teach our children to respect each other."
A few days before weighing in on the situation in Phoenix, Lloyd spoke about crime in South Africa.
The singer shared a clip of a man grabbing another man’s phone out of his hand. The suspect then escapes by jumping into a waiting car.
"Be aware of your surroundings. I love my country but I hate this!!! I hate crime !!! I’m not someone to post these type of things, I really hope that this helps someone today and prevents crime…. My intention is to help you and your loved ones to be more careful, PLEASE !!!" he wrote.
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Lloyd added that he experienced something similar.
"@janicescele and I experienced something similar, for us it was not a cell phone. It was a car, yeep that’s right. I won’t share the details now, maybe you’ve been through that [too] or something similar. However, I will never forget the pain and the trauma we went through. The shock, the fear and the depression that comes with it…
"It’s been years and we still feel it sometimes, and so we always on the look out, for anything or anyone suspicious or any abnormalities in our surrounding. Lock the car, turn around, double check, look around, hide keys, close windows etc etc etc."
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Main image courtesy of Instagram/@lloydcelemusic