|
LOCATING the Mbare Chimurenga Choir in the bustling suburb is no mean feat.
Despite the group’s growing infamy, the choir is hardly known.
At the foot of the notorious Jubheki flats, lies the house of one of the group’s leaders, Elizabeth Bwanya.
There is hardly any evidence that 30 years of Robert Mugabe rule has uplifted this god-forsaken place where his latest praise-singers reside. Rubbish lies strewn all over the place with hardly any corner left untainted.
Broken windowpanes and dirty walls of the nearby flats are scary for the uninitiated and one would hardly suspect this area is the home of a group that so profusely heaps praise on Mugabe.
Bwanya’s house was not easy to find, as she stays in a backyard, though the house is well constructed and furnished.
Just as has become commonplace in the country, there was no electricity at her home, a result of load shedding so she had to resort to cooking on a small flickering flame.
Taps run unattended, with a number of people seemingly more concerned about what their neighbours were up to rather than concentrating on their own business.
Bwanya, an imposing and exuberant character, spoke fondly about her choir and their location.
And from the way she spoke, she seemed very confident of her surroundings.
The leader of the Mbare Chimurenga Choir, who doubles up as Zanu PF district secretary for women’s affairs, claims she was a chimbwido (girl collaborator during the war) and the songs the group released are a reflection of her past.
She claims, without providing figures, that the group’s album was selling like hot cakes and they were finding it hard to meet the incessant demand for it.
Bwanya and her group have been receiving generous airplay on the state’s four radio stations and ZTV, the sole television station.
The songs which many have said are offensive for their support of President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF party are played at 30 minutes intervals.
However, Bwanya claims that they did no receive any funding from Zanu PF for the production of the album.
“They did not even put a single dollar,” she claimed. “Since last year each member has been putting $5 into our coffers and this has seen us being able to pay for the record deal.”
Bwanya said when they felt they had saved enough money they approached Amos Mahendere, who in turn produced the album.
The choir is reported to have 109 members and was formed in 2004.
Despite a lot of opposition to the songs, she defiantly recites popular Zanu PF rhetoric that the pirate radio stations should be shut down or their songs and other like-minded groups will continue being played on television and radio.
Bwanya said she was not interested in the inclusive government and her main priority was ensuring that Mugabe retained power.
Despite claiming that Zanu PF had not played any role in the production of the partisan jingles, The Standard has it on good authority that the party and the Ministry of Media, Information and Publicity led by the party’s commissar minister Webster Shamu played a major role.
Most of the footage used in the videos was taken from the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings (ZBH) library, where state security agents sifted through various videos and file photos searching for suitable material in an effort to make the video.
An insider said the agents began their work in March and were literally camped at the state broadcaster to see that the project came to fruition.
“Most of those pictures and video clips are from our archives, while some of the clips are computer generated,” the insider revealed.
Bwanya denied this, though she declined to divulge where they had got material for their videos.
A furore has been brewing over the jingles since they were introduced just under a month ago.
Cabinet was reportedly against the jingles and ordered the state broadcaster to pull them off air but ZBH has so far defied the directive.
Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara last week said Information minister, Shamu would issue a statement on the jingles.
Critics of the jingles say the songs are hateful and partisan and in a way they undermine the spirit of the inclusive government.
Bwanya, on the other hand remains defiant, saying critics should come up with their own songs, just as MDC-T legislator Paul Madzore has done.
But Madzore’s songs never receive any airplay on national radio and television.
BY NQABA MATSHAZI
 |
Show/Hide comments
Show/Hide comment form