The world might be hooked on his Wavin' Flag hit but it seems K'Naan has not impressed everyone, with some people criticising him for being ''difficult".

The 32-year-old singer - real name Keinan Abdi Warsame, born in Somalia and moved to Canada at 13 - has been in the country for the World Cup.

In the wake of his numerous appearances at fan fests and other concerts, the star has left tour insiders complaining about his attitude.

"There were several times when he made it so hard for us to deal with him. He complains and whines about the things he has to do . He even said he would not go to Alexandra township because it was dangerous," said an insider who spoke to The Times on condition of anonymity.

"This all comes from a guy who was born in Mogadishu. He even says things like he wishes he were back overseas then he wouldn't have to do all these visits to townships."

K'Naan's remixed single Wavin' Flag was chosen as Coca-Cola's anthem for the 2010 World Cup and has been played extensively in advertisements for the product.

In December, he performed it during the sponsor's World Cup trophy tour, which took him to 86 countries.

But appearances are deceiving, say insiders, who claim that "he hasn't really been the sweetheart that the press has painted him to be".

"At the Durban press conference [last week], K'Naan agreed to taking only six questions, claiming that his voice was sore. Then he didn't show up for another press conference, on Saturday, forcing the organisers to reschedule everything," the insider said.

"We've received complaints from people claiming that he is mean and refuses to take pictures with them, and he also told some people that he wished he could get out of the contract and go back home ."

But K'Naan's manager, Sol Guy, disputed the allegations, saying: "K'Naan was also human first before he was a celebrity, and he was very happy taking hundreds of pictures all weekend" [at the MTVBase Lounge Nights, at Latinova, in Rosebank, on Friday, and at Sun City, on Saturday night].

"We can't make everyone happy and that is evident because those few people who never got their chance to take a picture with him will be criticising him for that one incident," Guy said.

"He has been working with this campaign for 18 months. He hasn't seen his family in that time, he is tired and, yes, he did fall ill. "To get this kind of criticism when he has worked so hard is unfair."

K'Naan wrapped up his tour on Saturday night with a performance at Sun City.