{"id":10171,"date":"2020-06-07T17:07:58","date_gmt":"2020-06-07T15:07:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.auxsons.com\/?post_type=focus&p=10171"},"modified":"2020-06-11T10:09:40","modified_gmt":"2020-06-11T08:09:40","slug":"chimurenga-a-musical-struggle-in-zimbabwe","status":"publish","type":"focus","link":"https:\/\/www.auxsons.com\/en\/focus\/chimurenga-a-musical-struggle-in-zimbabwe\/","title":{"rendered":"Chimurenga: a musical struggle in Zimbabwe"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Bob Marley performed a historic concert to celebrate Zimbabwe\u2019s independence in 1980, did he imagine that the country\u2019s \u201cchimurenga\u201d, or fight for freedom, was only just beginning? Let\u2019s tune into 40 years of history\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

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It was exactly 40 years ago, in 1980: Zimbabwe finally gained true independence. The long years of violence came to an end. Ian Smith, the architect of the country\u2019s segregationist regime, comparable to that of apartheid, had even sworn that \u201cnever in a million years\u201d would the Blacks have power, but the Marxist guerrillas had taken the system apart. It was time for celebration. Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, was in Salisbury (Harare), but the uncontested star of the celebrations was Bob Marley.<\/p>\n

On the night of 17 April 1980, the Jamaican singer performed at the Rufaro Stadium around midnight. Traveling via London, he had chartered a plane at his own expense to bring with him 21 tonnes of equipment. After the speeches, after the slow and solemn replacement of the Union Jack with a new green, yellow, red and black flag, more than 30,000 people danced and sang like crazy, accompanying the reggae ambassador\u2019s calls for African Unity with their legs, arms and voices. When the backing singers started to sing \u201cZimbabwe\u201d, from the Survival<\/em> album released the previous year, the crowd went mental. The atmosphere was electric; the moment historic. If it were possible to list the most important concerts of the XXth century, this performance by Bob Marley - who had only a few months to live - would surely rank at the top.<\/p>\n

Bob Marley sings  Zimbabwe<\/em> on the scene of the Rufaro stadium, in the night from the 17th to the 18th of April, 1980 .<\/strong><\/p>\n

https:\/\/\u200byoutu\u200b.be\/\u200bD\u200b8\u200bC\u200b7\u200bW\u200bP\u200bR\u200ba\u200bcss<\/a><\/p>\n

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Recorded in Kingston with some of the best local musicians (Aston \u201cFamily Man\u201d Barrett, his brother Carlton, Tyrone Downie, Junior Marvin\u2026), \u201cZimbabwe\u201d opens with a reminder of a population\u2019s right to self-determination: \u201cEvery man gotta right to decide his own destiny\u201d, as well as urging African leaders to avoid power struggles. Had Bob Marley already guessed what was going to unfold? The new prime minister, Robert Mugabe, who had delivered a reconciliation speech on 17 April, accused his interior minister, Joshua Nkomo, two years later of plotting against him and massacred his supporters. After becoming president following a constitutional reform, he established an authoritarian regime that quickly led to the economic collapse of the country.<\/p>\n

During his 37-year reign, one of Mugabe\u2019s main opponents was a musician, the intransigent Thomas Mapfumo, although, prior to independence, the singer had supported Mugabe. In the 1970s, one of his songs, Hokoyo!, <\/em>a warning to the white government, earned him three years of imprisonment. While he may have helped bring Mugabe to the power, he did not think twice about criticising him as soon as it became clear that the former guerrilla would stop at nothing to stay in power. Mapfumo is one of those musicians who, like Tiken Jah Fakoly, finds it easier to write political firebombs than half-hearted love songs. And an impressive number of his musical Molotov cocktails have been inspired by Mugabe, such as \u201cZimbabwe\u201d, released 23 years after Bob Marley\u2019s song. In the video, scenes of jubilation in 1980 are replaced by challenging images of burning streets running with blood.<\/p>\n

Twenty-three years after Bob Marley, Thomas Mapfumo sings of his vision for Zimbabwe<\/strong><\/p>\n