I grew up in my rural village of Rusape where as a child I was exposed to the liberation war that pitted the colonial Ian Douglas Smith regime and the Black liberation fighters. I was one of the smallest war collaborators and my experience during that time forms part of the music that I sing today.
I would like to reiterate that I am not a politically oriented musician, I do not support any political party and as such do not sing for any politician. My music is about Zimbabweans and for them - Leonard Zhakata
Leonard Zhakata is one musician who suspects that reporters from Zimpapers are out to get him.
In 2006, I tried to interview him for my Wednesday column – Filecheck but everytime, he would promise to pass by only to change later.
When I eventually caught up with him, one of his fans had come to ask me if I could feature him. When I told him that I had tried my best, the guy said Zhakata was scared of Zimpapers reporters.
So I asked the guy to arrange a meeting between Zhakata and me for the interview. We agreed, and Zhakata confirmed, to meet at The Herald House one afternoon. I am not sure how the guy had convinced him about coming to the base.
When afternoon came – it was a Thursday – I waited and Zhakata did not turn up. Then we rescheduled our meeting to Friday. We agreed to meet at Machokoto Bar at Makomva Shopping Centre in Glen View 3.
I went arrived around 12 midnight and the show was on. Zhakata was being mobbed by fans while delivering song.
Whatever is said about Zhakata, the man has style. He has not changed much from his swag shown in earlier videos. Even the dress was immaculate.
I hung around the seedy bar and the show went on for the next three hours. When he went for a break, Zhakata sneaked out and I followed him.
But still the interview did not happen. I had to make another call, he told me, and fix another date.
I gave up on him.
The last time I spoke to him, I was doing an article on when and how musicians get spent. When the article came out, Zhakata was not happy accusing me of writing negative things about him.
Maybe, it’s only me who sees it – Zhakata has a look of a man who is being persecuted. There is a sadness in his eyes and a skeptical expression on his face.
He is not the kind you see every other time.
Sometimes, I think there is too much sadness in his music too. Just listen to every one of his songs and you will realise that there is a lot of pain and sadness.
Writing for freemuse website on his ‘persecution’ and fears, Zhakata says 2005 was his worst year careerwise.
He, for the first time, reveals that he was a war collaborator.
Read his article below
Blacklisted – My Personal Experience
By Leonard Zhakata - Musician
"The last five years have been my worst in as far as my artistic career is concerned," states the Zimbabwean musician Leonard Zhakata in this personal account of how being blacklisted has affected him
I grew up in my rural village of Rusape where as a child I was exposed to the liberation war that pitted the colonial Ian Douglas Smith regime and the Black liberation fighters. I was one of the smallest war collaborators and my experience during that time forms part of the music that I sing today.
I would like to reiterate that I am not a politically oriented musician, I do not support any political party and as such do not sing for any politician. My music is about Zimbabweans and for them.
I was surprised the first time that I heard that certain of my songs had been banned from the airwaves because they were perceived to be politically incorrect. I did not waste any time when I learnt about this. I went to the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings (ZBH) to enquire about this new development. At ZBH I held a meeting with the then Chief Executive Officer, Munyaradzi Hwengwere who professed ignorance at the said ban. Hwengwere told me that Disc Jockeys (DJs) at radio stations had the liberty to play whatever songs they preferred and that it was not ZBH’s policy to blacklist particular songs. It was disheartening to learn that the highest authority at ZBH could not help me, and that the banning of my particular songs were to the discretion of presenters. But I had doubts over Hwengwere’s explanation.
If I can point out that the last five years have been my worst in as far as my artistic career is concerned. Since when I released the album Hodho, which has several blacklisted songs, I have had negative articles in the state media who have gone all the way to show that I am a spent force. The independent print media has tried to give me coverage, but now with the absence of the Daily News which was shut down in 2003, my print coverage has been limited.
ZBH’s banning some of my songs saying they were politically incorrect, has led to some quarters thinking I am sympathetic to the opposition political parties. The result is that I have lost a number of my fans who do not want anything to do with politics. I have had to cancel a number of live shows in areas dominated by the ruling party as they threatened my person.
My story is one of growing up in the rural areas, then surrounded by war. I learnt to survive the hard way early. I have a lot of stories to tell from my childhood to where I am today. My music is a recording of events as they occur. I sing about my environs and people are free to interpret my songs the way they feel. It is unfortunate that with the current political, social and economic problems affecting the country, every song that I have released has been reviewed to suit a particular existing condition. If I sing about holding on to power, people think I am singing about the current President. But there are many people holding on to power – in companies etc. If I sing about change, people think I want the ruling party to be replaced.
The real sad thing is that our sole broadcaster, ZBH has also fallen into this mischief. The station has misinterpreted several of my songs and classified them as politically incorrect. I have several new music videos which I have prepared and given to ZBH for arial promotion but they have never been played. In making follow ups to my music videos, I have received conflicting statements on why they are not being played.
But I have high hopes that art stays longer and that with time my music will be played. I am eagerly awaiting that time when the airwaves will be free to play my music and hopefully that of other musicians who have been affected by this informal censorship.
The Zimbabwe censorship board has not come up with any spelt guidelines as to what we should sing or not. What they have done is to let broadcasters decide what they want played and what they do not want played. This has left the ZBH with a monopoly to blacklist songs it sees as politically incorrect.
My situation and that of other musicians has been made worse by the fact that we do not have independent radio and television stations that can offer alternatives. This situation has affected the smooth promotion of my products through the electronic media.
I still continue to work hard and promote my music through live shows around the country. What I have said to myself since my music began been censored is that I would continue to record music in the format I have been all along. I will not change my style, I will not tone down my lyrics and I will continue to sing about issues affecting the people of Zimbabwe.
I sing for Zimbabweans, and rightly so I sing in my native Shona language. I do not sing in English, and in singing in my native language I endeavour to be as elaborate as possible in my messages.
People who replace my lyrics with those that suit them are worsening my predicament with ZBH and government, but it is my hope that one day the broadcaster will accept my music for what it is – entertainment.
It is my hope that my music will remain provocative and create debate among the Zimbabwean society. As a musician I have the duty to serve my people, to sing about what I see around me, to sing about one man’s injustices to another, to rebuke those who manipulate others by virtue of being in powerful and authoritative positions.
Governments the world over censor music, and my case is not a unique one. But as my music is being censored there are fans who have remained loyal to my compositions and they have supported me through and through.
A lot has happened in the past and I have had no chance to come out in the open to give my side of story, luckily I have this time around. The next time, I will be talking about my once banned music receiving airplay on radio and television. Like the late great reggae star Bob Marley sang: “Time Will Tell”.
Leonard broke to fame in 1994 when he released the hit album “Mugove”. He is one of the top musicians in Zimbabwe, having made his mark in the 1990s and will always be rated among the best of his time. The musician was born in 1968 in Mutare and grew up in Rusape where he did his primary education before transferring to Harare’s high-density suburb of Glen Norah. The musician claims to have first received the inspiration to pursue a career in music in a dream, when he foresaw a family conflict, in the form of a song.
During his secondary education, he would attend music sessions with a group known as “Shika Shika Real Sounds” but his studies did not allow him enough time to fully participate in music.
At 13, he composed his first song titled “Baba VaSamson” which he later recorded on the album “Tungidza Gwenya”, thus fulfilling one of his childhood dreams. After school he teamed up with his nephew, the late Thomas Makioni who was also to become a popular musician later on in his life.
They joined Marxist Brothers as backing vocalists and then moved on to Haka Sounds in the late 1980s when the group eventually split.
Simon Chimbetu once claimed Zhakata stole the song Mugove Wangu which set up the latter as a giant on the Zimbabwean scene.
The duo then joined the Mazana Movement before forming their own group, the Maungwe Brothers. After a successful spell, the group disbanded and the two went separate ways with Leonard forming the Zimbabwe Stars.
Zhakata plays his own unique blend of music which he has Christened “Zimbabwe Original Rhythms of Africa (Zora)”, a tag he has kept to the present day.
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