CHIMURENGA music legend Thomas Tafirenyika Mapfumo (pictured) has urged Zimbabweans to unite ahead of the forthcoming general elections which he said provide an opportune moment for youths to lead the country.
BY ALBERT MASAKA
Mukanya, as the music icon is affectionately known, said there was need to re-enact what happened in the United States when a young Barack Obama became the leader of the most powerful nation in the world a few years ago.
In an exclusive interview with NewsDay Life & Style ahead of his departure for the United States where he has been based for the past 14 years, Mukanya said this was the moment for Zimbabwe’s young people.
“I want Zimbabweans to unite. When they unite, isn’t it they are going for elections? The youth should rise. Their voice must be heard. They are the future … they are our future, but if we are seen suppressing them saying that we are the elders and they do not know how to run the country, we are wrong,” he said.
“Obama, isn’t he a young person? He ruled the United States. This is only a State, but that one is the United States, but he is a young person. That is what we want… to leave an inheritance to the young people and see them standing up, talking, and respect them and give them those posts that you have, you who are very old.”
Mukanya’s sentiments appear to dovetail with the euphoria currently building around the emergence of youthful MDC-T president Nelson Chamisa following the death of Morgan Tsvangirai.
Mukanya, who held the most-attended paid-for show headlined by a local artiste in post-independent Zimbabwe, also thanked his fans who came in their numbers to welcome him at Robert Mugabe International Airport last week following his return.
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Mapfumo said he would never betray Zimbabweans and will die fighting for their cause through his music.
“We were very delighted with the response. They welcomed us very well. We were very happy to see such a huge crowd coming to welcome us… I would like to assure my fans that they should not think that I will forget them where I am. I always think about them.”
Famed for his songs laden with political satire, Mukanya appears to have pulled a political punch if the scenes and actions by the crowd witnessed at his homecoming Bira concert after a lengthy spell in exile on Saturday at Glamis Arena, Harare are anything to go by.
Mukanya threw the fans into a frenzy with a new satirical song Chauya Chauya (come what may) that urges citizens to “take the plunge” barring the consequences. Chauya Chauya left most show-goers chanting opposition MDC-T slogans and waving the open palm symbol.
