The Sunday Mail
I am particularly devoted to freshly ground coffee and I am sure that the music produced by the South African group that carries that name lives up to it.
I wouldn’t know because I have never listened to it. In fact, I thought they were a black a cappella outfit. However, recently I find this previously unknown (to me) musical group has got my goat and I need to write about it.
Coffee in Southern Africa has its own cultural undertones. In the case of ground coffee – especially “freshly ground” – the undertones become overtones.
The names of the members of the group confirm one’s initial intuitions.
They are, give or take what changes time brings round: Zolani Mahola, Simon Attwell, Peter Cohen, Kyla-Rose Smith, Julio “Gugs” Sigauque, Josh Hawks and Seredeal “Shaggy” Scheepers.
Freshlyground’s profile indicates that there is a Zimbabwean in the group though, which of the above could be a Zimbabwean is not clear from the names.
They were invited – yet again – by the Zimbabwean arts festival, Hifa, to close the show.
They apparently produced a musical video called “Chicken to Change”, in which they featured a caricature of President Mugabe and the MDC slogan “Chinja (maitiro)”, meaning “Change (the way of doing things)”.
They were denied entry into Zimbabwe. There were basically three actors in this little drama – Freshlyground, Hifa and the Government of Zimbabwe – note the President himself was not involved.
It is doubtful he knows any more about Freshlyground than I do and therefore Freshlyground’s little jibe that he has no sense of humour is probably unfounded.
Hifa is an arts festival in Africa which pronounces “hifa” hi (as in “hi there!”) fa. Or more simply “highfa”.
It is a highlight of the year for expatriates and the diminishing white population of Zimbabwe.
This is not to say that there are not also lots of black Zimbabweans who do attend.
The best way I can describe Hifa is to ask South Africans to imagine a festival or a country in which the vision of the DA rules – professional management and technical back-up, a considerable infusion of black auxiliaries but with the commanding heights very much in white hands.
Then the love affair between Freshlyground and Hifa becomes easier to understand. It is obvious that they see eye to eye when it comes to the meaning of “change” in Zimbabwe – and probably South Africa as well.
Whereas there may be disagreement as to “change” in these two countries, there can be no disagreement on the meaning of “chicken”.
“Playing chicken” used to be a favourite pastime of reckless youth at one time.
It consisted of driving motor cars at high speed straight at each other. The one who veered off to avoid the head-on collision was called “chicken”.
He chickened out. “Chicken to Change” would therefore imply that President Mugabe is frightened to change – and in particular frightened to do what Freshlyground, the Western Establishment and the South African and “International” media would so dearly love – disappear.
Unfortunately for Freshlyground’s satirical intentions, one glance at the facts will show that President Mugabe’s “chicken to change credentials” are disappointingly poor.
Very briefly, Robert Mugabe was so chicken that he – along with others – took on the Smith regime, endured its prisons, faced them out at Lancaster House and led the greatest change that Zimbabwe ever knew – Independence.
Not satisfied with that, he was so chicken that in the teeth of Britain, Europe, the white Commonwealth and the United States’ might and fury, he supported and finally led a change so fundamental that one could say that in terms of African history it ranks with the attainment of Independence in the first African country to be free, Ghana, or the release of Mandela and the collapse of formal apartheid in South Africa – Zimbabwe’s Land Reform.
So for a musical group in South Africa to satirise Robert Mugabe on the basis of his terror of change, is frankly, as The Herald editorial put it, “stupid”.
But forget about change – what about being chicken?
Since well before Independence up to the present, Robert Mugabe has been chicken enough to tell the mightiest tyrants on the globe – to their faces and in public fora – what he thinks of them on Iraq, on Libya and of course on his own Zimbabwe.
He has confronted Blair. He has confronted Obama.
When his generals told Hitler that within three weeks they would have wrung England’s neck like a chicken, Winston Churchill responded by saying: “Some chicken, some neck!” We all know who won.
And so I say to Freshlyground: “Some chicken!” in comparison to which Freshlyground are mere day — old chicks.
