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Blessings Chidakwa, Zimpapers Elections Desk

THE Joseph Msika Gala which was held in Glendale, Mashonaland Central on Saturday lived up to its billing as multitudes thronged the town.

Joseph Wilfred Msika, a national hero and veteran politician (6 December 1923 – 4 August 2009) served as the second Vice-President of Zimbabwe from 1999 to 2009.

Several artistes including Chief Hwenje, Mathias Mhere and Jah Signal had a good day in office as they kept fans on their toes. The musicians ushered out their artistic verve as they awakened the usually sleepy town of Glendale from its slumber.

Most sought-after mbira player V Mhofu left the crowd clamouring for more just like other several artistes who performed on the night.

The performances come as the Government is rolling out commemorative music galas in all the 10 provinces aimed at honouring the late national heroes ahead of the Heroes Day celebrations set for next month.

Speaking on the sidelines of the music gala, chief director of strategic communications in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Dr Major (Rtd) Anywhere Mutambudzi said the programme was a product of the directive from the President to honour national heroes ahead of Heroes Day celebrations.

Apart from the stated objective, Dr Mutambudzi said the programme is also meant to prop up the arts industry as diverse artistes get a platform to showcase their talents.

“We’re going around the country, province by province. We started in Chipinge, went to Maphisa and then Masvingo. We then went to Karoi and today (Saturday) we came to Glendale,” said Dr Mutambudzi.

He said the galas are also meant to recognise various liberation war heroes and heroines that did not get much recognition.

“There were individuals that weren’t recognised yet they played a very key role. These include Ndabaningi Sithole and James Chikerema. There are others that were in the limelight but if you go into the provinces, you could see that the top leadership were the ones that can be taken as having contributed the most.

“This is not to belittle any other contributions by any other veterans, contributions are contributions, you can’t quantify them but definitely there’s seniority.”

Dr Mutambudzi said the music galas are also meant to entertain while at the same time reminding youths about the major role that was played by the late freedom fighters.

“These galas are meant to attain a number of objectives, one of which is to prop up the arts industry. We are also entertaining and educating youths and the main message is to say, we should guard the ideals of the liberation struggle, the ones that brought this independence.

“Our independence is sacrosanct, it is something that we can’t temper with. We have to guard it jealously,” Dr Mutambudzi said.

“By hosting such events, we are sending messages, especially, to the youth that form the bulk of the people that come to attend, to appreciate where they came from and appreciate that Zimbabwe didn’t come easily. We feel it is a worthy cause and feel that we’re achieving our objectives.”

Among the groups that performed at the Msika gala was the revered dance group, Iyasa. The group’s director, Nkululeko Dube said they owe their success to galas as they catapulted the group to fame.

“Iyasa owes a lot of its popularity to galas since the year 2000. Our name and acts have become synonymous with the events and we actually appreciate the support we are getting,” Dube said.

He said the group had a memorable outing in Glendale as the audience was lively.

“At the Glendale gala, we were asked to open the live stream part of the show which shows how much trust the organisers have in the team’s capability. Our performers change from generation to generation, but we always give our best. The atmosphere was electric and pumped us up to give our best, it was a great performance with a very lively atmosphere and audience.”