By John Mokwetsi


MBIRA songbird Chiwoniso Maraire has spoken candidly about her thoughts on police brutality in Zimbabwe and how it has affected her personally, as a musician.

In an interview with Freemuse, an organisation advocating artists’ freedom of expression, she said police brutality was "a very bad thing".

The interview was conducted in Denmark where Maraire was performing alongside poet Chirikure Chirikure, and the Book Café’s creative director Paul Brickhill.

The trio also gave presentations at a seminar entitled "Zimbabwe Uncensored".

In a video interview Maraire said: "To beat people, to threaten people, to put a person in a situation where they have to think for the next five hours about whether or not they are going to be okay — is a very, very bad thing to do.

"Like, I had a situation when I performed at the Book Café when riot police walked in. All of these things now start to come into your work as an artist, and it puts you in a situation where now you really have to start thinking about what you are saying and what you are doing. So . . . — dicy!"

Many musicians have been banned on Zimbabwe’s state radio and television for daring to express their political views, about the dire Zimbabwe situation, with inflation hovering at about 14 000%.

Musicians, such as Leonard Zhakata, Thomas Mapfumo and Viomak have been victims of this unofficial ban, which was done outside the Censorship Act but in political offices.

Maraire said: "We have a responsibility. We are not bankers, we are not doctors, we are not nurses.

"We have another part that we play in society that must be done. So, regardless of whether the system is going to come in and say: ‘Cut what you are saying’, going to send riot cops in to your shows, going to come and arrest you and (say) ‘We are going to try and put you (in jail) . . .’ — it doesn’t matter. We have a responsibility."

Chirikure said artists had a role and their message should be kept alive. He said music eventually was the winner when confronted by the politicians.

Chirikure said: "One thing which has really kept me going is that in any culture music is always there in historical situations. The Bible, for example, talks about the walls of Jericho falling through music.

"And if song and dance destroyed colonialism in Africa why can’t it handle dictators? It will, eventually. Like we said: Poetry and music will always be there, long after the politicians (have gone)."

Chirikure attacked "the system", saying those employed by the government to come and threaten artists as they performed or to write bad stories in newspapers about a particular musician, were only showing that it was very difficult to put structures which actually controlled the musician’s voice.

Brickhill said: "I find it amazing in Zimbabwe that as the crisis has escalated over the last 10 years, so the role of music and musicians, and the number of musicians, and the importance of musicians, has grown phenomenally."

The trio spoke largely on how musicians had resorted to being clever with their lyrics to convey a message that only the community would appreciate and understand.

They said: "To someone who is in a situation of struggle, of strive, the moment you talk about ‘I wish I could travel to the village, to Mary, and kiss you, Mary’, it is loaded with meaning.

"The voice is literally saying: ‘I have no fuel to drive to the village’ or ‘There is no fuel for the bus to ferry me to the village’, so there is a deeper underlying message about which innocent ministry or government officials think . . . ‘Okay, they are just dancing (and singing) about their community problems . . .’

"But it is the deeper underlying messages which keep the community going, keep the society going."


http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com/viewinfo.cfm?linkid=14&id=7894&siteid=1