By Paul Nyathi|Prominent Bulawayo arts director and producer Cont Mhlanga says that exiled Ndebele contemporary music singer Lovemore Majaivana can not hope to get the same resounding reception as did Thomas Mapfumo when he returned home from exile recently.
In a revelation made to weekend newspapers, Mhlanga said that if Majaivana would return to the country in tha same style as did Mapfumo after two decades in exile, the Ndebele people would shun his return.
Mhlanga said this in response to widespread calls by people from Matabeleland calling on Majaivana to return to the country and perform one show at Barbourfields Stadium in Bulawayo.
Mapfumo returned to Zimbabwe and staged a huge sold out gig at the spacious Glamis Arena last month.
However, if Mhlanga was to have it his way, Bulawayo music lovers will have to feast their eyes and ears on grainy YouTube videos and old recordings to satisfy their Majaivana cravings.
“Majaivana shouldn’t come back. Why did people wait for Mapfumo to come to Zimbabwe before suggesting that Majaivana also comes and perform? If they really wanted him to perform here they should have simply got him here before Mapfumo’s gig was even thought of.
“People forget that when Mapfumo left Zimbabwe he was getting great crowds and support at his gigs. Was Majaivana getting the same in Bulawayo when he left? When he was singing saying no matter how well he sings people don’t see him or write about him in newspapers, where was the support? Have you ever heard Mapfumo complaining of a lack of support?” Mhlanga said in an interview with Sunday News.
“If Majaivana came back and performed for free at McDonald Hall, he would struggle to fill it up. That’s how bad the problem is with the people of Bulawayo. They don’t support their own and they never have. Instead they claim you then criticise you.
“If I was Majaivana and I was sitting at home there in the United States I would be asking myself why I would return to Bulawayo when Jeys Marabini and Sandra Ndebele can’t get a decent crowd at the City Hall?” said Mhlanga.
Majaivana has through the years resisted a number of invitations to come and perform in the country since he exiled himself two decades ago. The musician claims to have retired from music though he occasionally plays his guitar at his new United States home.
“I am not a musician anymore and so I would appreciate it if you would leave me alone. I now live a different life . . . thank you,” he told a publication some years back when attempts were made to bring him back to the music scenes.