SOUTH AFRICA-based Zimbabwean music outfit Amabhukudwana has vowed never to give in to police harassment and brutality in the neighbouring country, but continue to pen more songs of protest and human interest.
SHARON SIBINDI OWN CORREPSONDENT
The group released an album with the hit track track Khuzani Amapholisa aseGoli, which laments and highlights the daily harassment of Zimbabweans in South Africa and urges President Jacob Zuma to stop cops from demanding bribes from migrants, especially Zimbabweans, residing in Johannesburg’s notorious areas of Hillbrow, Berea and Yeoville.
Foreigners routinely fall prey to corrupt cops while criminals continue to wreak havoc on streets of the cosmopolitan city.
Speaking to the Southern Eye Lifestyle, the group’s founder, lead singer and composer Junior Ngwenya said the album got them into trouble with the South African police.
“The album Khuzani Amapholisa aseGoli really got us into trouble with the South African police at the end of 2014. The police threatened one salesman in Berea after hearing the song,” Ngwenya said.
“Some lyrics of the track go like this: ‘We Zuma sikhuzele amaphoyisa, sikhuzeleni amaphoyisa aseGoli, ayasihlukumeza asithathela imali (Zuma please rein in the Jo’burg cops, they harass us and demand money from us),” he said.
He added that the South African cops were not comfortable with the song being played in every corner of Hillbrow, Berea and Yeoville streets by Zimbabweans fighting back through music.
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“We received calls from private numbers by two callers pretending to be our fans asking if we could bring some CDs to the Hilbrow Police Station. We declined and told them to go buy the album at music shops. We then had another caller, who said he wanted to know more about us. We became suspicious and again declined to talk about the group. He became incensed and claimed to be a top cop saying we should withdraw the album from music store shelves or he would hunt us down,” Ngwenya said.
He said a lot of their salesmen had been intimidated by the police and warned against playing this particular track.
The group would continue singing about social ills that affect foreigners in South African society despite continued police threats.
“This album has seen Amabhukudwana rising because of our fearless social commentary. Wherever we go people are keen to hear Khuzani Amaphoyisa aseGoli.
“We have also seen a significant growth in our fan base since the release of this album. There have been responses from fans in countries such as the United Kingdom, Botswana and the Unites States.”
He urged Amabhukudwana fans in Zimbabwe to be patient while they work on something new adding that South African radio stations were not particularly keen to play their music, preferring instead to promote that country’s musicians.
“Some radio stations are on a mission to push up their local talent so it becomes difficult for a Ndebele maskandi group to make a break onto the music charts.”
Ngwenya said the group would be releasing a new album Insukamini in April.
