Chimurenga icon, Thomas Mapfumo says he is leaving Zimbabwe a bitter man after he was fleeced by his promoter and manager. He told H M...
Chimurenga icon, Thomas Mapfumo says he is leaving Zimbabwe a bitter man
after he was fleeced by his promoter and manager.
He told H Metro :”When we came back home from this tour we
thought everything was in place. Our manager Austin Sibanda and Max Mugaba
entered into an agreement where we were supposed to get 70 percent of the
proceeds after sharing the costs with Max getting the reminder.
I sensed that something was wrong when we arrived in
Zimbabwe after we learnt that our return air tickets had been cancelled since
Max owed the travel agent some money. When we asked him he said everything
would be rectified and we decided to continue with the tour.
Mukanya said the Peace Tour was plagued by a series of
blunders with the youthful promoter being cagey with breakdowns. He suspected
that the promoter was conniving with his own manager, Blessing Vava.
He then decided to take matters into his own hands. “Imagine
I was now acting as a booking agent and promoter,” he said adding that after
the Club Hide out show “as has become the norm, Max and Vava played the same
trick and disappeared with the money.”
He said the real problems started when he was supposed to
perform at Tanza Night Club. “On our way to the show, I forgot something at our
rented guest house in Glen Lorne only to find the doors locked. The landlady
had taken away her keys and it was difficult for us to get inside. We then
proceeded to the show and came back after the show only to find the door locked
again.
I was shocked to read in the press that I had been chucked
out for failure to pay rent which is not true. The rent issue was between Max
and the landlady who was owed $1 600. This accommodation was organised by Max
and I was not involved. The police in Borrowdale managed to convince the
landlady to unlock the door and we managed to take our clothes and moved to a
new place that I swas given by my young brother Minister Chasi.
We have been staying at his lodges and up to now I am still
there till I leave on Monday.
After being fleeced by Max I decided it was wise that I do
something for the band members who helped me. We then organised some of our own
shows and last weekend I was in Guruve and all the proceeds went to the band
members.
Its unfair to be duped by one of your own and I will be
taking legal action against him. I pray that the Naational Arts Council
deregister such kind of promoters. I do not usually work with crooks but Vava
betrayed me. I considered him an honest and educated man but he showed us his
true colours, He never bid me farewell when he left for South Africa.
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