Nkala pours water on Bulawayo Mafia talk

By The Standard | Jul. 13, 2018 | 2 Min read

Bulawayo artiste Nkululeko Nkala has dismissed the notion that failure by Bulawayo artistes has been caused by the “Mafia”, indicating that it takes someone’s effort to be successful.

BY SHARON SIBINDI

This follows claims by some Bulawayo artistes, including Jeys Marabini and comedian Carl Joshua Ncube, that there was a “Mafia gang” stifling their efforts.

Speaking during the Eziko Theatre Laboratory session by Victory Siyanqoba on Debunking Mafia Fallacies, Nkala said according to his translation, a Mafia is someone who works hard and it takes someone’s effort to succeed.

“To be honest, I listened to three speakers and I was disappointed that some people, who have been here in the industry for so long, still want to hide behind the Mafia issue. I have been singing with Umdumo Wesizwe and I was in the queue, where I was number five. The promotion I got was singing baritone, but I decided when I woke up one day and said I want to grow,” he said.

Nkala said he then later created himself through hard work.

He said the problem with some artistes was that they wanted to play the blame game.

“Most of you (artistes) have one big problem. You want to blame people for your failures. Whether you like it or not, there are people in the industry who want to blame others,” he said.

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“I was not part of Intwasa Arts Festival. I only joined it in 2011 because I was supposed to go to Europe with Siyaya and I never got a visa. I thought to myself that will I go back to the city and cry because I didn’t get the visa or I will stand up and work for Intwasa?

“I worked for Intwasa to a point where it is now, which many are whining about. I wake up in the morning, I write a proposal to Ingwebu that can they give at least $200 to five groups from Bulawayo? Then we start to negotiate.”

Nkala urged artistes to have products and desist from blaming each other.