Dancehall superstar Winky D, renowned for his role as a social commentator, recently delivered a highly charged performance at the Castle Lager Braai Festival, with a song selection that analysts suggest was a deliberate, coded commentary on the intensifying factional infighting within the Zanu PF ruling party.
The Castle Lager National Braai Festival was held at Glamis Arena, in celebration of the event’s 10th anniversary.
Winky D, whose music has previously drawn the ire of the establishment, is seen as the "voice of the underprivileged" and often uses metaphor to critique the country's political landscape.
His playlist for the night—featuring tracks like Gafa Party (Toi Toi), Kudhakwa, Vafarisi, Zvatanga, and most notably, Dzemudanga — was interpreted as a pointed political message.
While Dzemudanga (roughly translating to “from the kraal or stable”) is lyrically rooted in the intense "turf wars" and confrontations of the ghetto, its inclusion is considered highly significant within the current political climate.
The song’s theme of fierce, no-holds-barred rivalry is seen as an artistic parallel to the perennial Zanu PF succession disputes.
Though the song was released during the late former President Robert Mugabe's era, when the Team Lacoste and G40 factions were locked in bitter struggle, its message remains relevant today as new tensions emerge over Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga's potential succession to President Mnangagwa and the debate over extending the presidential term beyond 2028.
The commentary suggests Winky D’s performance of Dzemudanga serves as a rhetorical warning to the public: don't get involved or take sides in the elite’s internal fights.
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The message implies that the party’s factions will ultimately set aside their differences to unite against any common external "enemy" to protect their collective power.
The inclusion of other songs further cemented the political reading of the performance. Kudhakwa (Drunkenness) comments on the widespread social decay, drug abuse, and the corruption that has "intoxicated" society, a theme often tied to the failures of the ruling elite.
Furthermore, the song speaks to the country's succession disputes, referencing the political tensions of the Mugabe era and echoing the current power dynamics between President Mnangagwa and Vice President Chiwenga.
Gafa Party, Vafarisi, and Zvatanga utilise party and dance themes but are known to carry dual, often polemical, meanings that wedge into social and political discontent.
When an artist known for counter-hegemonic narratives thus challenging the dominant political discourse releases a song about intense, bitter conflict, the public and analysts often interpret it through a political lens, even if the lyrics don't explicitly name Zanu PF factions.
The song becomes a mirror reflecting the broader atmosphere of political tension, division, and aggressive infighting in the country.
By performing this specific setlist, Winky D, a master of coded political language, transformed the festival stage into a platform reflecting the “broader atmosphere of political tension, division, and aggressive infighting in the country”, solidifying his status as a persistent and subtle voice of dissent.
