GOSPEL music was honoured last week after the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), in their efforts to curb crime, took a huge step to remove the numerous public relations roadblocks to reach such a noble goal and appointed local gospel superstars Charles and Olivia Charamba as brand ambassadors.
By The Master
At the signing ceremony in Harare, ZRP Deputy Commissioner General Godwin Matanga said fighting crime was the duty of all stakeholders and expressed the force’s confidence that engaging the Charambas would yield positive results considering their influence in society.
This comes at a time when the Charambas’ latest albums Abba Father and Voice of Mirriam are fast-gaining popularity, a feat which comes as no surprise for a couple who have written and produced a series of timeless albums including the popular Mhinduro Iripo and are revered by many as the first family of local contemporary gospel, becoming one of the most influential gospel singers in the country.
Pastor Charamba told The Standard Style that they attributed all the honour to God the Almighty, whom they serve, having been appointed as brand ambassadors for the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe as well.
He said they felt humbled by the leadership of ZRP’s gesture and were not focusing much on the award, but were preparing themselves to successfully fulfil the mandate of working with police in curbing crime.
“Yes, it’s official that we have been appointed goodwill ambassadors for ZRP as well.
“While it looks very honourable, we are not focusing much on that, we are rather preparing ourselves to successfully fulfil the mandate. Our duty largely has to do with crime prevention awareness. We will play our part in promoting interpersonal relations, respect for sanctity of life and cultivation of goodwill among a people of diverse backgrounds,” he said.
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Pastor Charamba said before accepting the offer, they had prayed hard about the proposal and soul-searched for a long time.
“Yes, there could be some small challenges, considering that it’s a first of its kind. We find gladness in the fact that the God we worship is the author of good morals. The Bible distastes crime, so does our Constitution, for which the ZRP is the custodian.
Crime and sin are cousins, God and the Constitution speak against them. Our music is laden with values and virtues of godliness and ubuntu,” he said.
While the two ambassadorial roles looked different at face value, Pastor Charamba said on closer inspection their roles are compatible with each other.
“At Traffic Safety Council, we educate and encourage good road usage and the respect for human life. We participate in road carnage reduction activities and we collaborate with the police a lot. At the ZRP, the mandate is related. The only difference is that we would be advocating against crime in general,” he said.
The man of God took time to thank their fans for the massive support they are receiving on the latest albums.
“The reception is massive. We thank our followers for forgiving us, we had taken long before releasing. Songs like Ndiri Munana, Vana Mumasango, Aba Baba, Ndiregerere, Mwaka, Tudikidiki and Jesu Garai are really generating an overwhelming feedback from listeners,” he said.
“People are happy with the sound which relates with our formative beat,” he added.
Pastor Charamba said while their frequency of holding concerts was now moderate because they were giving listeners more time to have an appreciation of the albums before holding live shows, yesterday they were in Zvishavane and other concerts are lined up for Marondera, Chinhoyi and Chitungwiza as well before end of year.
“The trend with us is that we try to allow the sinking of our music among fans before engaging them in concerts,” he said.
The couple is ploughing back into the community by empowering both gospel and secular musicians “Yes, plans are underway though we feel that our commitment to mentor emerging artists and being available for them is a huge investment on its own. We assist by holding seminars so as to educate the younger generation,” he said.
“It is, however, important for us to point out that, when it comes to empowerment and assisting, we consider even those outside the gospel fraternity.
“We have orphaned youngsters among us such as Biggie Tembo Jnr and others whom we can’t afford to dismiss if they need help,” he said.
The musician has bagged several awards including Most Popular Gospel Artist, Best Gospel Artist at the Zimbabwe Music Awards, Best Gospel Artiste, Song and Video of the Year (National Arts Merit Awards) and Life Time Achievement as a credit to his gifting as a musician.
l You may contact the columnist, Albert Masaka on Email: [email protected]
