Zimbabwe: Mapfumo - I Won't Respond to Shamu

Source from:  Financial Gazette (Harare) 10 January 2008 01/11/2008

LEGENDARY chimurenga music star, Thomas Mapfumo, has said that he will not respond to comments by former broadcaster and Minister of Policy Implementation, Webster Shamu who said he should return home because he has no case to answer. Mapfumo, who was speaking through his manager, Cuthbert Chiromo, opted to reserve his comment on the matter. Chiromo said, "He wants to maintain his low profile and wants to be known as a musician and not anything else." Shamu a patron of the Zimbabwe Union of Musicians said Mapfumo has no case to answer while speaking at the funeral wake of Mapfumo's mother, Janet, who died last month. "Thomas Mapfumo haana mhosva yaakapara and as such he has no case to answer. He should always remember that home is best and he should occasionally come for the December biras we have known him to stage every year. His fans miss him," Shamu was quoted as saying. But Mapfumo who now lives in Oregon, the United States said, "If I wasn't quoted in that story then I have no reason to respond. Those were the views of Minister Shamu. All I want is to speak about music because I am a musician." Mapfumo left for the United States at the height of political violence and intimidation. It was at that same time that he received numerous threats to his life because of the hard-hitting messages that his music carried in such albums as Chimurenga Explosion, which featured the song Mamvemve, which ruffled the government's feathers. Mapfumo's popularity grew at that time, with his music maintainging a revolutionary and pro-people stance. Despite Shamu's assurances, there is no guarantee that the now clean-shaven musician will not have a case to answer if he returns to Zimbabwe. Last year, businessman and former NMB Holdings executive James Mushore was arrested after returning to Zimbabwe though he had allegedly been given an assurance that he would not face prosecution. Shamu's assurances also do not hold much water because according to Zimbabwean law it is the Attorney General's office which determines whether one has a case to answer or not. Mapfumo's fans say they miss his memorable shows such as the big one which was held at Boka Tobacco Auction Floors in December of 2001. His last show in Zimbabwe was in 2004 at Sports Diner. Enditem