Zimbabweans mourn ‘hero’ Chinx

Known to people as Chinx, Makoni had been ill for some time. In April he was rumoured dead twice prompting his family to release his picture while in hospital. Chinx, who was a war veteran and a member of the country’s ruling party ZANU-PF, reportedly received financial assistance from the government for medical assistance.

Musicians, politicians and fans paid tribute to the late musician whose music career began in the early 1970s before the country gained independence from Britain in 1980. Exiled musician Thomas Mapfumo, through his publicist Blessing Vava, acknowledged Chinx’s contribution to the country’s independence and music industry.

“On behalf of Dr Thomas Mapfumo and Chimurenga Music Company, we send our heartfelt condolences to the Chingaira [family] and entire nation on the sad loss of comrade Chinx,” Vava wrote on Facebook. We salute and honour the selfless sacrifice he made during the war of liberation using his music to inspire guerrilla fighters in Mozambique. His was not the gun but his powerful lyrics oiled the struggle and motivated the liberation fighters.”

Local musician Sandra Ndebele also took to Facebook to express her condolences. “I just woke up to some sad news that comrade Chinx Chingaira is no more. Rest in peace, legend,” she said.

Other musicians who paid tribute to Chinx include Alick Macheso, Nicholas Zacharia, Mbare Chimurenga Choir, Zexie Manatsa and many others.

The founder and chairperson of the Zimbabwe Music Awards, Joseph Nyadzayo, told a local daily that Chinx’s legacy should be cherished by the youth. “In the music industry, I feel there is a void which the youngsters should rush to fill. He has left such a big void that I hope several of our youngsters will fill. We definitely need conscious artists in the mould of comrade Chinx; the youngsters should surely rush and fill the void. If we don’t have it filled, music will become just hedonistic for the pleasure of it and I don’t think we can waste such a powerful tool.”

Journalist and music critic Plot Mhako said: “RIP comrade Chinx. Your legacy lives on. I hope one day the ideals of your music get fulfilled.”

Secretary for Information and Publicity Simon Khaya Moyo said in a statement: “The party [ZANU-PF] will miss you comrade Chinx, but your songs like those composed by your friend comrade Give Nare live forever. You were a true patriot and many youths must learn from your exemplary life and contribution to this free nation. Go well and may your soul anchor and rest in eternal peace.”

Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Minister Christopher Mushohwe added his voice. “He was among the best crop of singers and composed such songs as ‘Maruza Imi VaPambepfumi’, among others, which inspired freedom fighters,” Mushohwe said.

Businessman, politician and philanthropist James Makamba said the late singer played a pivotal role in unifying Zimbabweans. “The chimurenga [liberation struggle] songs that he led played a crucial role in uniting and motivating the comrades that were at the front of the armed struggle to end the colonial rule of Zimbabwe. Today let us remember his legacy and his many songs that we enjoyed,” he wrote on Facebook.

Since Makoni’s death there has been controversy over whether the late musician should be declared a ‘liberation hero’ or a ‘national hero’. The difference between the two is that those declared national heroes are given a state funeral at the National Heroes Acre, a special burial ground and monument reserved for Zimbabwean freedom fighters. “Patiently waiting for comrade Chinx to be declared a national hero but the silence on the issue from the leadership is deafening,” a fan wrote on Facebook earlier this week.

However, the ZANU-PF-led government on Tuesday confirmed Makoni’s ‘liberation hero’ status, which means that he will buried at a provincial Heroes Acre. This has led the public to question whether artists in Zimbabwe are being recognised for their contribution to the struggle. “Not declaring Chinx a national hero is a travesty at peak. Contempt in life and death,” Mhako said.

Award-winning Zimbabwean actor and activist SIlvanos Mudzova said in a Facebook post that the musician did not deserve to be called a hero because his songs had been used as propaganda mechanisms that led to black-on-white farm violence in the late 1990s.

“Will the Mugabe regime ever answer to their atrocities, will they ever offer compensation, will they ever publicly apologise? Let’s pause for a thought for the relatives of victims, shall we? How do we celebrate a life of a comrade who sang praises of the regime’s terrorist acts towards its own citizens?” he wrote.

Born on 27 September 1955 in Rusape, eastern Zimbabwe, Makoni rose to fame with songs such as ‘Africa’, ‘Hondo Yeminda’ (War for Farms) and ‘Mabhunu’ (White People). Makoni joined the liberation struggle in 1975. In the same year he left Rhodesia and went for military training in Mozambique. He was then instated as the leader of the Takawira Choir, which was later renamed the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army Choir. His influence in the struggle earned him the opportunity to meet the late Jamaican reggae icon Bob Marley during the independence celebrations in 1980.

After independence, he recorded the early chimurenga hits ‘Zvikomborero’ (Blessings) and ‘Nerudo’ (With Love) with artists such as Bennie Miller and Keith Farquharson. He also starred in the controversial 1996 film Flame and wrote the score for 1989 South African documentary Limpopo Line.

He worked with bands such as Ilanga, Mazana Movement Band and Mazana Black Spirits. His hit song ‘Vanhu Vese Vemu Africa’ (All the People in Africa) became a massive hit in Zimbabwe in the mid-1990s.