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| Cde Chinx (1955-2017) |
The
revolutionary artist and veteran of Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle, Dickson “Cde
Chinx” Chingaira breathed his last on 16 June 2017, a day when Africa commemorates
the 1976 massacre of black school children by apartheid forces during the Soweto
Uprising.
Cde
Chinx was not only a veteran of Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle, but a talented artist
who chose to use music to advance the struggle against imperialism both before and
after independence. It is not surprising that he was sidelined by the government.
The post-independence Zimbabwean government had not hesitated to throw away a Leadership
Code or to adopt the western-inspired Economic Structural Adjustment Programme
(ESAP) of the 1990s.
His key songs highlight the victorious fight
against colonialism and settler rule (Maruza
Imi), the fight against a government that was losing the socialist way of the
liberation struggle (Rojer Confirm)
and the importance of united struggles against imperialism waged by the exploited
people of Asia, Africa and Latin America (Vanhu
Vese vemuno muAfrica).
In
his personal life, he died almost a pauper without any social welfare benefits.
He also could not get medical assistance of note in a country where the leaders
rush to treatments in foreign destinations. The house he built was razed down
as an illegal structure in independent Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe
has seen the number of artists surging up, manly as a result of democratized production
of music especially by the Zimdancehall movement. However, the lack of ideological
clarity also has seen these artists initially singing pro-poor songs, but within
a few days of success, these artists resort to singing nonsensical music about sexual
and drug escapades as well as materialist aspirations like flashy cars, money and
clothes. Cde Chinx never did that, although at certain times indeed he had to
join the throngs of hapless artists who would praise-sing for the Zanu Pf government
under the guise of anti-Western politics in order to get recognition and food
on the table.
In
nutshell, many obituaries will likely be written about Cde Chinx. however, it
is worthwhile to note that he, alongside the self-exiled Thomas “Mukanya” Mapfumo,
Leonard Zhakata and Hosiah Chipanga, have been the last voices of truly
conscious revolutionary music in Zimbabwe. Adieu Cde Chinx.
(Lenin Tinashe Chisaira is a
writer, lawyer and activist based in Harare. he blogs at www.cdetinashe.blogspot.com and www.africafightnow.org and tweets at @LeninChisaira)
