The Sunday Mail
Prince Mushawevato
Features and Arts Editor
THE 2021 edition of the National Arts Merit Awards (Nama) proved to be a typical case of a good but poorly executed concept.
The premier awards are given by the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) in recognition of outstanding achievements in the arts and culture industry.
However, as usual, the event left many with more questions than answers.
It is clear the ceremony — running under the theme “Our Legacy, Our Pride” — was rushed.
Glaring anomalies easily prove little thought was put into the overall “Nama Legends at 40 Awards”.
Honestly, how do organisers of the event fail to honour a single urban grooves artiste?
Surely, one of them deserved to be part of the eight musicians that walked away with gongs?
The impact of the urban grooves movement — talk of the Zimdancehall genre that currently dominates the local music scene — is there for everyone to see.
At least two pioneer urban grooves artistes should have made it to the podium.
Rockford “Roki” Josphat, Cindy Munyavi, Decibel, Major E, Tererai Mugwadi, Ex Q, Pauline Gundidza, Sanii Makhalima, Maskiri, Trevor Dongo, Sniper Storm, Nox Guni, Roy and Royce, Leonard Mapfumo, the list is endless, have played a major role in revolutionising local music.
Their effort cannot be ignored.
Are these not the kind of artistes that the Legends at 40 awards were focusing on?
The absence of gospel music gurus like Machanic Manyeruke and Charles Charamba was equally disturbing.
Fetid!
It was also surprising that not any of the pioneer dance groups, particularly female dance ensembles, were part of the winners.
Who has forgotten the exploits of groups such as Mambokadzi led by Enisia Mashusha, Amavitikazi, Girls of Peace, Girls La Musica, et cetera?
The dance industry, presently represented by Dancers Association of Zimbabwe (DAZ), was fortified by the efforts of these ‘pioneering’ ladies.
They endured all forms of abuse from fans and promoters to make the local dance industry a respectable profession.
It gets worse. Freddy “Kapfupi” Manjalima and his “Magariro” street theatre crew that included “Charles “Marabha” Merisi, Jeffery “Aphiri” Chikwesere and Mai Trouble (pronounced Tiraburu on set) were also not honoured.
This is despite the fact they also left an indelible mark in the arts sector.
It is not often that an ordinary street theatre production finds itself on national television.
However, Kapfupi and crew managed this feat because of their outstanding talent.
They also blazed the trail for their peers.
They became a marvel during prime-time viewing at the turn of the millennium.
We also have comedians like Doc Vikela, Carl Joshua Ncube, Edgar Langeveldt, Clive Chigubhu and veteran actresses like Patience “Mai Jilimba” Musa that were overlooked. NACZ should have taken time to come up with a foolproof list of winners.
Controversy should not always cloud every edition of the awards as has apparently become the norm.
Some of the challenges can be avoided by simply consulting widely.
Maybe if they had taken heed of calls by critics to postpone the event, the outcome would have been different.
There was no need to rush, in the process spoiling such a beautiful national concept.
As it stands, such controversies have overshadowed the glitzy and glamorous event. Overall, it was a top-notch event by all measure and a huge improvement from last year.
