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Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent 

ORGANISERS of the forthcoming Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi memorial concert, who are under attack for leaving out Tuku’s daughter, Selmor on the line-up, have said she has another commitment on the day. 

The concert scheduled for September 27 at the Glamis Arena in Harare will be a celebration of Tuku’s birthday. 

Tuku would have turned 67 on September 22.

It is being organised by renowned music promotion company, Chipaz Promotions. 

Headlining the celebrations will be South Africa’s Mi Casa, Zambia’s Amayenge and locals Alick Macheso, Winky D and Jah Prayzah. More performances will be from Zambia’s James Sakala, Souljah Love, Enzo Ishall, Tocky Vibes, Black Spirits, Kinnah, Blot and Diana Samkange.

After going through the list of performers on posters which have started circulating, most noticed that there was a notable absentee on the line-up – Selmor. They started questioning why she had been left out and started suggesting that it was because of family feuds.

Event organiser, Patson “Chipaz” Chimbodza, however, clarified the issue and said Selmor was not on the line-up because she is booked on the day.

“We approached Selmor in April to be a part of this concert. However, she said she was booked for a show elsewhere on that date. So, we had to respect that and we can’t force a person who’s booked,” said Chipaz.

He said the show, as per tradition, was being held to celebrate Tuku’s birthday. 

“We’ve always done Tuku’s birthday celebrations for the past four or five years. For this year, we’ve engaged artistes who’ve worked with Tuku. Going forward, the celebrations will continue to be held annually even though he’s now late,” said Chipaz.

Since Tuku was a national and international music icon, Chipaz said other shows to celebrate him will be held in Bulawayo, Gweru, Kwekwe and Mutare.

“Tuku is a national hero so we’re going to do these events in other cities. We’ve lined up one in Bulawayo, the others in Kwekwe, Gweru and Mutare,” said Chipaz while also addressing those in Bulawayo who were quizzing why there was no artiste from the city on the line-up.

 For the city shows, he said, artistes from each respective city would be blended with artistes from the capital. 

“The shows in all cities will have artistes from Harare who’ll perform alongside those from the various cities. For instance in Bulawayo, people like Jeys Marabini and Sandra Ndebele who’ve worked with Tuku will be included. We’ll select more artistes based on their popularity.”

He said the Bulawayo show, if all goes according to plan, will be held in December. 

“In Bulawayo, we’d like the concert to be in December. However, we’ll have to consider our fellow promoters in the City of Kings and make sure they don’t have any other show there during that time so that the dates don’t clash. In Mutare, we’ll hold the show in November,” said Chipaz. 

Tuku, a national hero, died on January 23 this year after succumbing to diabetes.