What would Mbuya Nehanda and Sekuru Kaguvi have done?

The spirit of this nation is female. Yes, Nehanda Charwe Nyakasikana. If you ask me, I’d say Nehanda Nyakasikana was Zimbaremambwe’s ultimate feminist. She remains undying and immortalized in history and legend. To her name we now add the respectful title of “Mbuya” – the real “machembere”, as Zimbabwe’s urban youth would glorify anything magnificent. The maternity section of Harare’s Parirenyatwa Hospital is now named after her – such a life-giving name in this now wretched place where our women give birth. The College of Health Sciences of the once great University of Zimbabwe is also located there.

Mbuya Nehanda and Sekuru Kaguvi in captivity, 1896.

The story is told that when subjugation and humiliation came, Mbuya Nehanda and Sekuru Kaguvi, they not having attended law school or any manner of school, and they not having read the Bill of Rights or anything of that sort, knew that their dignity and humanity had been stripped. That this was fundamentally wrong did not escape them, and they knew they needed to act. And they did.

They rose, with blood, sweat and tears to set themselves free in the land of their forefathers, their heritage. They could not fathom the idea of being slum-dwellers, squatters in their own land, begging for bread and butter. They needed their land, freedom and dignity back.

But there was a problem: the white settler from overseas had guns and cannons. Mbuya Nehanda and Sekuru Kaguvi didn’t. They had bows and arrows and spears blacksmithed from whatever little iron they could gather through the yet-to-be developed extraction mechanisms. They were under no illusion: from the start, they knew they would be defeated; the weaponry was just not equal to the task. Yet they went ahead and fought. For them, what they were fighting for was an ideal they could not let go and fold hands on. Like Steve Biko would say, they believed it was better to die for an idea that would live, than live for an idea that would die. So they fought. And yes, they were defeated. They were killed. They were hanged. That is how we lost Mbuya Nehanda and Sekuru Kaguvi. They put themselves on the line for us. A master class on sacrifice, right? But then here is the phenomenal thing: they lost that First Chimurenga battle but they started a revolution which continued beyond their deaths. “My bones will rise again,” she said under that tree where she was hanged. And they rose. Those who remained regrouped, re-strategized and fought on, and the Second Chimurenga was fire! The rest is history. Nehanda’s heroism became a significant source of inspiration in the nationalist struggle for liberation in the 1960s and 1970s. The result: white minority oppressive rule was defeated and the black majority took their country back. And Ian Smith and his unholy “not in a 1000 years” declaration? Egg-faced and later self-exiled to the Cape where he met his demise! Down south across the Limpopo, young Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu would later walk and die in true Mbuya Nehanda fashion: “My blood will nourish the tree that will bear the fruits of freedom. Tell my people that I love them. They must continue the fight”, he said.  

In those days, young boys and girls risked and left everything and they went to fight; they believed in their nation. They were true patriots. On their own volition they left school, left their villages, husbands and wives, and they crossed the angry rivers and skipped the treacherous mountains into camps in Mozambique and Zambia. They were fearless. Without smartphones and internet, they organized and they mobilized. They brought home independence.

Fast-forward 37 years after independence. Today, we face a situation that faced Mbuya Nehanda and Sekuru Kaguvi. Some of those who took over and fought for this country are now good boys and girls gone bad. The dreams Mbuya Nehanda and Sekuru Kaguvi rose up for, are the same we yearn for today; same land, same people. Those who claim intellectual property rights over the struggle our parents and grandparents fought now behave like they have title deeds to our country. Is there any difference between them and the likes of Cecil Rhodes who claimed title to whole heritages and even named nations after them? Remember Rhodesia? Is that not what was being fought against? Those erstwhile liberators now play the hopes of the people – those dusky imitators of petit bourgeois Europe; far worse that they learnt the oppressors’ way and now behave more fierce than they. Chinua Achebe must be telling Mbuya Nehanda and Sekuru Kaguvi: “I warned these people before I left!”

Question: if Mbuya Nehanda and Sekuru Kaguvi were here today, what would they have done? Fold hands and watch? Make social media jokes out of their suffering and laugh at themselves? Throw stones at those who dare rise and speak out? Nah! Those two were allergic to indignity, exploitation, suffering without action, disenfranchisement and subjugation. Certainly they would not have suffered in silence and then congratulate each other for being “resilient” as they suffer some more!

Yes, the forms of struggle now take different shapes. But the point remains: there is a struggle and a decision to be made. You decide what you want to do about it and how you would want to wage your struggle: vote; run as a candidate; conscientise the masses; support progressive running candidates – you decide, as long as it’s positive action to contribute to your liberation and economic freedom against the former liberator-turned oppressor. Nehanda and Kaguvi fought guns and cannons with bows and arrows out of love for their dignity and their country. And today? Today we are dead scared of the Great One’s army, police, CIOs and party militias, so much so that very few ever speak or act in the face of injustice and disenfranchisement. Nehanda and Kaguvi knew they could die by speaking out and acting, but they also knew they could and would die if they remained silent and inert!

You decide. But true patriots act: “the duty of a true patriot is to protect his country from his government”, and the true patriots and heirs and heiresses of the liberation struggle are those who seek and work for freedom, justice, human dignity, equal opportunity, development and progress. Let’s see who’s more sophisticated now: us the 21^st century Apple generation with PhDs (forget those who make calls to get them and those who write PhDs for each other only to threaten to expose each other when the milk turns sour!), or Mbuya Nehanda and Sekuru Kaguvi who stood, worked and died for those values above. I choose to be like Mbuya Nehanda and Sekuru Kaguvi. As Bob (the lucid one) said, “None but ourselves can free our minds”! And I have further bad news for you Zimbos: Superman is not coming. He is busy in his own country and with his own people. Don’t shoot the messenger. 

Published by Kubatana.net in the Weekend Reading - 21 July 2017

Sometimes in April

“Yes, it is April again. Every year in April the rainy season starts. And every year, every day in April, a haunting emptiness descends over our hearts. Every year in April, I remember how quickly life ends. Every year, I remember how lucky I should feel to be alive. Every year in April… I remember…”

These are the opening words uttered by Augustin Muganza, played by Idris Elba, in the 2005 historical drama Sometimes in April, recounting the horrors of the 1994 Genocide of Rwanda. In this movie emotions run high, our humanity is questioned, and our conscience is interrogated. For those with hearts, the questioning and interrogation happens within oneself. Within a space of 100 days, almost a million of our brothers and sisters were wiped away from the earth’s surface. They were accused of being Tutsi. It was the greatest genocide of our time. I shall return to Rwanda shortly; for now, it is the story of April.

April each year is a soul-searching month for me. April each year begins on a good note, with April Fools’ Day on the 1^st. Here I get to prank my family and friends. I get to prank my classmates and colleagues.  This year however, my friend and housemate Jonah, caught me before I caught him. I was too slow. He BBM’ed me in class while I was attending an Administrative Law lecture. He said he had been involved in an accident and needed my urgent help. I packed up, almost about to leave the lecture hall. Just as I remembered that it is April Fools’ Day, he sent me a message confirming my foolishness. Leon Schuster would say I was “Schusked”! This is the fun side of April, always beginning on a good note.

Then April holds Human Rights Day in South Africa. Half a continent away in April 1994, just as the killings by machetes began in Rwanda, South Africa was holding its first ever democratic elections, and 75 year-old Nelson Mandela and millions of black South African were voting for the very first time in their lives. Democracy was being born. Every year in April, this redeemed nation remembers the horrors of apartheid, how through reconciliation a nation was rescued from the verge of civil war. Just as in Rwanda, this day opens wounds. Memories of the past are brought to life; people of my colour remember how they were considered perpetual infants in the motherland, how people with a different skin colour from overseas came and claimed ownership of their land and wealth. They remember Cecil John Rhodes when he said; “I contend that we are the finest race in the world and that the more of the world we inhabit the better it is for the human race…What an alteration there would be if they Africans were brought under Anglo-Saxon influence”, and many other similar sentiments uttered by like-minded souls, those who regarded melanin to be a brain fluid. So the rhetoric went on for centuries, unabated. But then, these bad and bitter feelings are quickly subsumed by the memories of victory, when good triumphed over evil. So instead, they pause on this day to celebrate the achievements of humanity in their beautiful country, and they take stock of how far they have gone in undoing three and a half centuries of dehumanization. Human rights have a very special place in my heart; the desire to practice in human rights and advance the respect, promotion and protection of human rights in our troubled continent is my reason for studying law, believe it or not. South Africa has a story to tell. Their transition was almost miraculous. So I watched Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, again, as I introspected on this momentous day. What Mandela did brings solace, so we celebrate him. The world’s most loved and admired man showed humanity what love can do. He left us last year, having fulfilled his calling. Indeed as he said, “When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his people and his country, he can rest in peace”. So the man can rest. Yes, he showed us that “No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite”. So what we really need is love, and the respect of human rights follows, naturally. As Obama remembers him, Nelson Mandela is “a man who took history in his hands and bent the arc of the moral universe towards justice”.

This year, Easter falls in April. I am a believer. I believe in my redemption, justification and sanctification through the death of our Savior Jesus Christ. It gives me strength; it renews my spirit and conviction. As Apostle Paul said, it brings me to the knowledge that it is no longer I who lives, but Christ through me. As 1 Corinthians 5: 21 assures me: “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him”. By His blood I was bought – cash, no credit! Then Romans 8:35-39 reassures me;

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?...For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,  nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

So the message is also about love. April reminds me of the love of Christ, love that I am enjoined to share with all humanity, and express to same.

April 18, 1980 is the year the Union Jack came down at Rufaro Stadium in Harare’s Mbare suburb. The Zimbabwean flag was raised; it was Independence Day. The legendary Bob Marley came from Jamaica, and he sang at this occasion. He penned a song for it, the famous ‘Zimbabwe’. So every year on 18 April, my nation gathers in Harare, at the National Sports Stadium or at Rufaro Stadium to mark this day. Thousands others gather at different locations across the ten provinces of the country. So we remember how our nation was born, and how it has been bred. For me, this is a bitter sweet experience; sweet because we shacked off the bondage of colonialism, and we proved Cecil John Rhodes and his naivety wrong. In his life time, and within 1000 years, black majority rule was established in Zimbabwe. Bitter because in the now, 34 years down the line, my nation bleeds for justice, peace and stability. Something has gone wrong. Before he left, Mandela described the happening in my country as tragic failure of leadership. Alan Paton would help me shout “Cry the Beloved Country”! At one point as we sought to find solid footing after independence, my country become known as the bread basket of Africa. We exported food. My country came to be known as the most educated nation in Africa. Now we export human capital like no other commodity. Now our people are called “Kwerekweres” in South Africa and Botswana. Many drowned in the Limpopo River or were eaten by crocodiles as they tried to cross the border for greener pastures. Many died during the period of xenophobia. Many are called illegal aliens and illegal foreigners in the United Kingdom, In Australia and in Canada. In the world, the nation slowly became isolated, a pariah state. Terror was unleashed on a people. The economy fell. In 1980 the life expectancy in Zimbabwe was 66; now it stands at 37. In 1980 the exchange rate was US$2 to Z$1; it was twice as strong as the South African Rand. Then we had the highest inflation in the world, superseding that of the Weimar Republic of the 1920s. Now there is no Zimbabwean dollar to talk of. We became a problem in SADC, and we were in the news globally, receiving more coverage than that given to the other 53 African countries combined. So my heart bleeds when we celebrate independence, rather, commemorate. I think of Franz Fanon’s Black Skin, White Masks, and Steve Bantu Bikos’ prophetic observation in 1972:

"If we have a mere change of face of those in governing positions, what is likely to happen is that black people will continue to be poor, and you will see a few blacks filtering through into the so-called bourgeoisie. Our society will be run almost as of yesterday."

All this comes to life in April, on this day of introspection. So I cannot speak much of celebration. Instead, I long for good governance and the respect of human rights in the motherland. Hope never dries!

Ten days later, after commemorating Zimbabwe’s independence in 1990, I was to be born on April 28. On this day I call my mother, and thank her for all she has done for me, and for raising me single-handedly when the worst came to pass. On this day I count it joy to live, and a privilege, when many are losing their lives every day. It is an age where life expectancy has dropped to its lowest levels ever in my country. In Africa South of the Sahara, HIV/AIDS has wreaked havoc, reducing life to trash, and blowing it away like ash. I cannot put it any better that Bunmi Mukinwa (UNAIDS Eastern and Southern Africa) does in his book AIDS Africa: A Continent in Crisis; “No terrorist attach, no war, has ever threatened the lives of more than 40 million people worldwide. AIDS does.” So as I am alive and healthy, I reflect on the beauty of life, and I thank God for all I have and all I have achieved. I reflect on my own contribution to mother earth. I make vows to be a better person each year, better than I am now this time next year.

I shall now return to Rwanda. In April 1994 the genocide started. I have known what happened in Rwandan 1994 from my days in high school. I knew people were killed; I had watched Hotel Rwanda. As my passion for human rights, peace and good governance grew, I was inspired to learn more on what happened in this great tragedy. I wanted to know more on what went wrong, and why. So I watched Hotel Rwanda again. Then Sometimes in April, and The Ghosts of Rwanda. I read newspaper articles, magazine articles and books. I read General Romeo Dallaire’s Shake Hands With the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda, a recount of his hallowing personal journey as he led the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Rwanda during the genocide. Then I read Philip Gourevitch ‘s We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda, Immaculee Ilibagiza's Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust, Fergal Keane’s Season of Blood: A Rwandan Journey , Linda Melvern’s A People Betrayed: The Role of the West in Rwanda's Genocide, the list goes on.  As Philip Gourevitch puts it in his article ‘Remembering Rwanda’;

“The season of slaughter that decimated Rwanda twenty years ago is one of the defining outrages of humankind. At no other time in the history of our species were so many of us killed so fast or so intimately: roughly a million people in a hundred days, most of them butchered by hand, by their neighbors, with household tools and homemade weapons - machetes and hoes and hammers and clubs.”

It is April once more, and the wounds of Rwanda are opened. This year, as every other year, the people of Rwanda gathered in Kigali, at Amahoro Stadium. 20 years on, the stadium cried as a survivor narrated his story during the genocide. This crying happens every year. This period calls upon us to remember with the people of Rwanda. In 1995 when he was appointed Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Desmond Tutu had this the say:

"I hope that the work of the commission, by opening wounds to cleanse them, will thereby stop them from festering. We cannot be facile and say bygones will be bygones, because they will not be bygones and will return to haunt us. True reconciliation is never cheap, for it is based on forgiveness, which is costly. Forgiveness in turn depends on repentance, which has to be based on an acknowledgement of what was done wrong, and therefore on disclosure of the truth. You cannot forgive what you do not know."

The remembrance of the days of the genocide in Rwanda has this very same effect and objectives described by Tutu. In order to truly heal, one must not run away from the reality of what happened. More so, in order to prevent what happened, one cannot be oblivious to what transpired. This is by no means an easy process. So difficult has it been for the Rwandans themselves that many schools have not yet began to teach the history of the genocide, in order to gain closure and to heal. This is understandable given the nature oif the tragedy we are dealing with.

The world turned its back on Rwanda, as a people descended on their own. Today Rwanda is a haunted nation. The story of their recovery and the rebuilding of Rwanda however, is moving. As Strive Masiyiwa reported from his recent attendance at the Rwanda Genocide Commemoration week in Kigali, today Rwanda is one of the fasted growing economies in the world!

It is April once more, and the rainy season has started in Rwanda. May the rain wash away the tears and pain of this nation that has been through a dark history in our time. May restoration come upon Rwanda, and may restoration come upon humanity. Rwanda occupies a special place in my heart, and remains an inspiration for me to use to talents for the benefit of my continent in peacebuilding, human rights and good governance. I cannot express it better than Wyclef Jean does in his song “Million Voices”: “There’s no money, no diamonds, no fortunes on this planet that can replace Rwanda...”, and in his touching chorus sang by children in Kinyarwanda:

“Ni ryari izuba, Rizagaruka, Hejuru yacu, Ni nd' uzaricyeza ricyeza”.

            [When will the sun return above us? Who will reveal it once again to us?]

So April for me is a significant month. It holds memories. It harbors pain, frustration and joys. It brings introspection and reaffirms my hope and strengthens my resolve. It is a soul-searching month, as I watch it pass slowly. If I have drawn your attention to one thing, let it be Rwanda. So this April, and in the months to come, spare a though for Rwanda. The question is: can we answer with conviction that 1994 Rwanda will never occur again in another African country? So let the story of Rwanda be a message of love for humanity, and the need to spread peace and love rather than violence and hate. Let the importance of love that the gospel speaks of, which in essence is the story of Easter, become real in the face of what happened in Rwanda, and let the events of Rwanda strengthen your resolve to contribute to peace, good governance and the respect of human rights in Africa and beyond.

In the meantime, I am craving to visit an African country, Rwanda. Yes, I want to visit Kigali, and Hôtel des Mille Collines!!

Musa Kika

April 18, 2014.

Durban 

The need for vigilance in banking transactions in the light of prevalent fraud, misrepresentation and Ponzi schemes in the business world

Here's my latest publication in the Obiter Issue 3 Vol 34 (2013). This piece was co-authored with Mr Michael Buthelezi (Lecturer in Law at the University of KwaZulu-Natal).

The need for vigilance in banking transactions in the light of prevalent fraud, misrepresentation and Ponzi schemes in the business world
The Trustees of the Insolvent Estate of Grahame Ernest John Whitehead v Dumas Case 323/12 [2013] ZASCA 19 Unreported (20 March 2013)

 

 

Abstract

 

Numerous persons are inclined to take a risk by making short-term investments that promise substantial profit returns within the shortest possible time. In this respect people take a gamble and try their luck at whatever opportunity that presents itself. With this growing trend has also arisen fraudsters, whose business is to prey on possible investors by making investments in non-existent business ventures, and large numbers of "investors" have lost vast amounts of money in these get-rich quick schemes. One such example is found in the recent SCA decision of The Trustees of the Insolvent Estate of Grahame Ernest John Whitehead v Dumas (The Trustees of the Insolvent Estate of Grahame Ernest John Whitehead v Dumas GNP (unreported) 2013-03-20 Case no 323/12). The case involved a specialist medical practitioner, Dumas, who made an investment into a fraudulent scheme, having been misled through a misrepresentation by an agent of Whitehead, mastermind behind the fraudulent Ponzi scheme. As a result thereof, Dumas lost a couple of million Rands into the insolvent estate of Whitehead. As illustrated by this case note and the age-old adage that says "a fool and his money are soon parted", unwary persons could easily lose their hard-earned money. Hence, this case note seeks to enlighten would-be investors of the pitfalls of Ponzi schemes, such as huge financial loss as was experienced by Dumas, and encourage vigilance in making financial transactions. This it does through a critical examination of the Dumas judgment. It especially concerns the legal principles pertaining to monies that are transferred from one bank account to another bank account owing to fraudulent misrepresentation. Primarily, the case note takes a critical view of the manner in which the court applied these legal principles. While the court, in the authors' view, properly set out the legal framework, which is sound and correct, it nevertheless went wrong in its application of the law.

 

Get the full case note on Sabinet here: http://reference.sabinet.co.za/document/EJC148911.

Avenues of Jacarandas...

The Streets of Harare, Zimbabwe

THE VIBE CULTURE: ECHOES FROM THE STEEL AND WHEEL INSTRUMENT - A Tribute to Chiwoniso Maraire



Gone too soon - Chiwoniso Maraire

On Wednesday the 24^th of July 2013, Zimbabwe woke up to the sad news of the passing of a much loved woman in the country’s music circles. It was the shocking death of Chiwoniso Maraire. Those who knew her quite well called her Chichi.

Only last year, I did a collection of Chiwoniso Maraire’s music. I did not appreciate Chiwoniso that much until in early 2010 when I listened to her song on the album Famba Zvakanaka: Safe Journey by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), a collaboration project of prominent local artists that sought to address the issues of illegal migration and the risks of HIV/AIDS at the height of Zimbabwe’s political and economic crisis. Since then, I have been a follower of Chiwoniso. I have appreciated her talented voice and the richness she brought to the platform each time she took to the stage. It was easy for Chiwoniso to become one of my top favourite artists. Her death is devastating. No more new stuff from Chiwoniso! It is true that sometimes we do not realise just how much important someone is, and the beauty of what they give us until they are gone. I have known of this, but I have certainly been reminded. A tribute to her is in order.

 

There is something about Chichi’s music, something about her love affair with mbira that stood out. Her music was filled with spirituality and spoke to the African soul, more so to the Zimbabwean soul. She was just as spiritual in her performance as the mbira instrument is to the African. With her group, The Vibe Culture, Chiwoniso changed the face of mbira music trotted on untraveled routes leaving a remarkable trail of excellence and progression.

She had a spiritual connection with mbira that was soul-searching

Whilst the mbira or thump piano instrument is found in many places across Africa, with some of its names being mbila, likimbe, zanzu and karimbao, the mbira culture is strongest in Zimbabwe. Chiwoniso and the Vibe Culture sustained that culture and ushered its breakthrough in contemporary modern stage and studio performance. According to Chiwoniso, she played a type of mbira called the mbira nyunga nyunga. Traditionally only men were allowed to play mbira in Zimbabwe. Chichi turned the tables around and challenged that patriarchal system, and made a name for herself for playing mbira, the wheel and steel instrument. That was a solid role on its own that Chichi played in the feminist movement. But that was only as far as challenging this traditional system was concerned. Substantively, her music took this role further. She sang of liberation, child protection, women emancipation and raised her voice to bring awareness about the suffering that people went through at home.  

On her remarkable discography, Chiwoniso left us with the masterpiece albums Ancient Voices, Timeless, Rebel Woman, and Hupenyu Kumusha, Life at Home, Impilo Ekhaya: The Collaboration Volume 1, which she did with her colleagues. She also had her song Rebel Woman featured on the international compilation Listen to the Banned, which features the music of banned, censored and imprisoned artists from the Middle East, Africa and Asia. To date, Ancient Voices is perhaps Zimbabwe’s best known album internationally, and the album made her a star on the world music scene. No doubt, those who will take time to open their ears and listen to her voice and words will easily see why she became a world star. My personal favourites from her are Nhemamusasa, Wandirasa and Listen to the Breeze.

 

Very few of us will forget her role in some of the first local films to hit our screens. “Mudiwa Tamari, eh my darling Tamari!” That was in the movie Everyone’s Child, directed by the talented Tsitsi Dangarembga and produced by Jonny Persey. Everyone’s Child also emerged in the same film as a soundtrack from Chichi. Her involvement in this and many other films speaks of the role she was constantly playing in fighting societal ills, which almost always was the focus of all the film projects she has been involved in.

I was in Harare recently and had planned to watch Chiwoniso perform. I could not have known that by not fulfilling my plans I had forfeited my last opportunity to see Chiwoniso live on stage. The stages at the Harare International Festival of Arts (HIFA), Book Café, Jazz 105 and many other platforms and joints where music and art lovers conglomerated, local and abroad, will never be the same again. The void shall be felt.

Among her many exploits, Chichi will be remembered for her role in exporting Zimbabwe’s music to the far lands of the West and East.

As one commentator noted on twitter, Chiwoniso Maraire brought glitz and glamour to the mbira genre. Through her playing of the mbira instrument, many young people were inspired to play the mbira in modern and contemporary fashion. Her use of both the Shona language and English made the mbira genre all the more interesting, adapting it to modern times and making mbira music go international. With Chiwoniso, we saw mbira being fused the modern instruments, producing a blend of sound that made her unique in her own way. She started a trend and laid a foundation for upcoming musicians to follow her and develop the genre.

The Vibe Culture on stage

Many had thought that the departure of Stella Chiweshe from active performance on the local scene was a death to the kind of sound she had created with mbira, but Chiwoniso emerged and took it further, adding flair to it. So we had contemporary mbira grooves led by Chiwoniso on the one hand, and the traditional all-male mbira outfits led by Mbira dzeNharira, Mbira dzeChirorodziva and Maungira Enharira on the other. May the likes of Dudu Manhenga and Hope Masike carry Chiwoniso’s work forward. May they take contemporary mbira music to another level. That will be a befitting tribute to Chichi, the queen of mbira music.

I cannot help but agree with Selmor Mtukudzi; “Hameno Mwari band rakapenga ravarikugadzira kudenga uko, because it seems he is only picking the most gifted artists”. (God must be assembling a great band up there in heaven because it seems he is only picking the most gifted artists). It is celebrations in the heavens I guess, but to us left behind, it pains. “….So if I cry it’s only because I don’t know what to do.” I am reminded of Jah Prayzah’s lines in his 2012 collaboration with Chiwoniso, Mhiriyo; “Baba vatonga zvapera. Izwi radana zvakwana.” (The Lord has ruled, it is over). Zvachioniso zvapera! Chiwoniso will be greatly missed.

Musa Kika

Durban, July 2013

A sterling contribution to youth development

From his days as a head boy at primary school to overseeing the launch of the Dr Timothy Stamps Trust on Chronic Conditions last month, the 23-year-old has shown immense leadership skills and a passion to emancipate youth.

Musa Kika is currently recognised
as one of South Africa's brightest young minds.

by Chris Ncube

---

The youngster served as a child parliamentarian and Child Minister of Transport and ommunications in Zimbabwe’s Junior Parliament (2007-2009), founded the Dzivaresekwa-Mabelreign Child Safety Committee, co-founded the Dr Timothy J. Stamps T
rust on Chronic Conditions where he serves Programmes Coordinator, become a member of the Young People’s Network on HIV/AIDS & Sexual Reproductive Health for Harare Province, co-founded the UKZN Student Law Review and recently represented his country at the Commonwealth Legal Education Association’s Law Students Conference seventh Session of the Conference of Youth on Climate Change held at the sidelines of the COP17 meeting in Durban.

In a recent interview with The Zimbabwean, Kika said his passion for empowering youth came after he realised Zimbabwe was in need of development-oriented, innovative and forward looking leaders.
“Young people are the greatest hope the continent has to combat the vices we face today. Investing in young people is building a firm foundation for Africa, especially so in the areas that haunt Africa the most – governance and development,” he said.

“As a young person, I realised that the few talents and abilities I have are better used in the service of the community that I come from, in this case being Zimbabwe and my continent at large. I am inspired by individuals who, in the face of adversity and skepticism, have remained principled.”
The number of hurdles he has encountered over the years have not quenched his passion and drive.
“The challenges I have faced are the very same vices I am fighting: lack of resources, general complacence and lack of motivation to change circumstances for the better.” Kika’s efforts have not gone unnoticed internationally. In 2011, non-governmental organisation, Brightest Young Minds, rated him among the 100 brightest young minds of South Africa. He is currently affiliated to the Brightest Young Minds as an alumnus and is recognized as a Vice Chancellor’s Scholar at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the highest academic honour he has received yet.

 

Published in The Zimbabwean, Harare, 03 July 2013
http://www.thezimbabwean.co/news/zimbabwe/66618/a-sterling-contribution-to-youth.html

NEW JOURNAL TO ASSIST LAW STUDENTS HONE WRITING SKILLS

UKZN Online Volume: 7 Issue: 31

http://enewsletter.ukzn.ac.za/Story.aspx?id=149&storyid=2014

 

 

The Law Review Team:
Pic 1 Howard College Team from left - right, top: Londiwe Goba, Tafadzwa Chiposi, Musa Kika; bottom, Ntokozo Qwabe, Aidean Ross, Lavanya Pillay
Pic 2 Pietermaritzburg Team (left - right); Tafadzwa Dhlakama, Carol Maseka, Ntokozo Mamela, Phumla Tom, Amin Matola.

 

Law students have created a vehicle to sharpen their academic writing skills following the recent launch of a journal titled: The UKZN Student Law Review.

 

The journal will feature articles, case notes and book reviews written by undergraduate and postgraduate law students from both the Pietermaritzburg and Howard College campuses.

The articles will focus on various aspects of the law including developments in law and analyses of landmark decisions which substantially impact on the implementation and enforcement of the Constitution, adherence to the rule of law and the promotion of social change through amendments to the law.

 

The team of students driving this innovative idea are Mr Ntokozo Qwabe, Mr Musa Kika, Ms Tafadzwa Chiposi, Ms Londiwe Goba, Ms Aideen Ross, Mr Tafadzwa Dhlakama, Ms Carole Maseka, Ms Phumla Tom, Mr Amin Matola, Ms Ntokozo Memela and Ms Lavanya Pillay.

Kika, a third year LLB student, said the development of the journal was motivated by the need for students to have an outlet for their contribution to legal debates which shape their constitutional democracy and South Africa’s legal system.

 

‘We have noted the absence in our Law School of a platform which allows our students exposure to academic writing outside the classroom, yet law itself is a writing profession and sound writing skills are vital. We aim to develop independent research and writing skills among students - essential aspects which have been criticised for being inadequate in the LLB programme in its current structure,’ said Kika.

 

Mr Qwabe reiterated the call for students to submit papers saying: ‘Not only will this enrich their research and writing skills, it will also make them marketable for employment and other exciting opportunities available to law students.’

 

Law academic, Ms Lee Stone, said the journal would be a useful tool to develop and groom the students as legal professionals, scholars and academics.

 

‘The journal articles that are received from students will be published on the School of Law website. We envisage that we will eventually move towards publishing print copies of the Law Review once we have secured funding for this. Students are invited and encouraged to submit contributions to the Law Review through the Call for Papers which has been distributed by e-mail to each student and is also contained on the Law Review webpage,’ she said.

 

To view the call for papers and articles follow this link: http://law.ukzn.ac.za/Student-Law-Review.aspx

 

THERE WAS A MAN. HIS NAME WAS CHINUA ACHEBE

“While we do our good works, let us not forget that the real solution lies in a world in which charity will have become unnecessary” Chinua Achebe (Anthills of the Savannah, 1987)

 

I was doing my A’ levels in Harare when I first came into contact with Albert Chinualumogu Achebe. His 1987 novel, Anthills of the Savannah, was a set book in the African list, along with Tsitsi Dangarembga’s She No Longer Weeps, Paul Freeman’s Rumours of Ophir, and We killed Mangy Dog and other Mozambican Stories. I enjoyed English literature so much, it was my favourite subject, and of these works, Anthills of the Savannah stood out.  I cannot help but move back in time at the thought of this, and be filled with the nostalgic reminiscence of those literature classes and seminars back at St Johns High School in Emerald Hill. I especially remember the academic debates with my talented friends, that were almost always about politics and literature, and the latter almost always centred on Anthills of the Savannah and the many intellectually stimulating themes it brought; gender, African governance, African tradition, Western education, myths, among many others. Very few of my time would forget how studying Anthills of the Savannah made the study of literature a pleasure. It made the study of literature go beyond an intellectual appreciation of words craftsmanship. This African piece spoke to the heart and soul, more so being an African myself.

Since then, I have grown to like Chinua Achebe. I have read his other works. I quote them many a times. Since then, I have not regarded Professor Achebe as a mere writer. He became an icon to me, an icon for the very themes his work brought up, and the agenda he pursued through them. I had already listed Achebe to be amongst the top men I looked up to from the African continent, because of their wisdom, integrity and consistency. Then last night, I learnt of the death of this man. My heart was broken.

In 2011 Achebe was ranked by Forbes as the most influential celebrity in Africa. Professor Achebe was a writer par excellence, an activist of good governance and an academic who did not hesitate to use his talent for the greater good of his people. His novel Things Fall Apart is to date the most widely read book in modern Africa literature. His masterpieces; Arrow of God, A Man of the People, and No Longer at Ease, amongst other works, remain at the heart of many.

 When in the decolonisation period in the 1950s, when academic debate arose on the language of choice in African literature, with writers such as Ngugi waThiong’o arguing that English and other European languages were “part of the neo-colonial structures that repress progressive ideas”, many would not forget Achebe’s defence of the use of the English language in his article “The African Writer and the English Language”. He did recognise the shortcomings of using the language in the African context though. Through this, his books have been able to be read even in the colonial ruling nations. He was supported by the likes of Ghanaian Ayi Kwei Armah who contended that English in now an African language, and African English has been created.

Many would remember where and when his struggle against the misrepresentation of Africa by non-Africans started, in which period he did lectures such as ‘An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”’. Achebe is the man who told the true story of Africa as an African son, gracefully celebrating its virtues, unapologetically attacking the structural wrongs of Africa, and viciously fighting against its misrepresentation by those who know little of it, from across the oceans.

Achebe had an intellectual Afro-centrism, one that took pride of who he was yet in no denial of the challenges that surround our beloved continent. This manifestly resonated in his works. One could see traditional African wisdom, packaged for modern day consumption. In no other works have I seen African oral tradition, folk stories, proverbs and oratory so succinctly infused with modern academic intellectualism to produce fine art of the highest octane value for Africa and beyond. I totally loved this in his novels.  He realised his role was not merely to highlight the challenges of Africa, but suggest solutions in remedial thereof. His works are pregnant with patently African solutions to African problems. As a writer, Achebe was not writing from a detached position. He had seen and experienced the things he wrote. He wrote about a people he was a part of. The credibility of his works is therefore not questionable.

For me, Achebe was an icon as he captured the sense of pride in his identity, the desire for growth and development, and the principles of accountability and just governance. He was an epitome of how we all ought to use our talents and play our part in our struggle for social justice, peace and development. During the 1970s, Achebe did involve himself in political parties but soon resigned out of frustration over the rampant corruption and elitism he witnessed in those few years. To this day, as a man of principle, Achebe refused to be corrupted by those in power as evidenced by his legendary rejection of the National Honour by the Nigerian government, twice; at first in 2004 because of the rampant corruption, intolerance and poor governance in Nigeria, and for the second time in 2011 because nothing had changed from the time he rejected the first offer to the time he was offered for the second time. The National Honour is Nigeria’s highest honour. True to his own word; “One of the truest tests of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised”.

"The Mandela of Literature" - The Daily Telegraph

I still have Achebe’s works on my reading list, and I will read them. As I read, I will remember that this is a legacy left to us by one of the greatest minds to ever grace the African continent. I will remind myself of a life well lived. I will reflect on what has changed from the time he put down his concerns to paper, in an artistic way, to the present. For this and other sons and daughters of Africa who spent their lives fighting for social justice and the just governance of men through their works, we who have been left behind have a duty. Ours is a task, just like in any other struggle waged, to ensure that the work of the pioneers is carried forward, and that the achievement of the ideals that these people stood for, become the greatest tribute we can ever give to them. Achebe was a hero, I will call him a freedom fighter. He called himself a storyteller, and he waged battle at his own level through his chosen career, where his talent lay. He continued to do this in academic exile, in Boston, where he finally made his death.

“Storytellers are a threat. They threaten all champions of control, they frighten usurpers of the right-to-freedom of the human spirit – in state, in church or mosque, in party congress, in the university or wherever” - Chinua Achebe.

Indeed even at the time of his death, at the time of our loss, this will strengthen us; we are but like the anthills of the savannah that survive to tell the new grass of the savannah about last year’s bush fires. We will not be broken in spirit, but will survive with those bruises, for the generations to follow to see that here a great battle was fought, and for them to take over and fight against injustice and for the African renaissance. 

Chinua Achebe illuminated the path for Africa writers; rightly described as one of the continent’s towering men of letters. The great Igbo man from Nigeria has left us. African has borne the loss. Rest in eternal peace the father of African literature. Our children will live to read your works in generations to come. It is a legacy left to us, one that we will cherish.

Musa Kika

Durban, South Africa

23 March 2013