The Sunday News
Raisedon Baya
CONT Mhlanga is a controversial figure and doesn’t sugar-coat the truth — bitter as it may be. When he had the energy and motivation to write he wrote some plays that ruffled many in the corridors of power. Those who know him know that he has no sacred cows and no taboo subjects. When it’s not his pen spewing bitter truth it is his mouth. I personally know him as a man who does not mince his words. He tells it like it is.
When I was young and starting to write plays, he was my idol. I so much wanted to be like him. One evening he came and watched a play I had put up with friends. After the show he asked for the writer of the play and my young colleagues, excited that Cont had come to our show, pointed me out. Cont came to me and said, “Mzukulu, what was that? We don’t write plays like that. Hayi bo!” He gave me one of the harshest criticism I have ever received and that criticism nearly destroyed my dreams. It was only later that I heard he had actually loved most of the play and was telling members of Amakhosi that our small theatre group was actually a serious challenge to Amakhosi theatre in terms of producing good and meaningful plays.
Anyway, the reason for this article is the old man’s recent sentiments on Lovemore Majaivana carried by this very paper.
These sentiments seem to have ignited a lot of fires on different social media platforms. In a piece written by Bruce Ndlovu the veteran playwright and sector leader is quoted as having said there was no need for Majaivana to come back and stage some shows like Thomas Mapfumo recently did to resounding success. According to the piece Cont Mhlanga went to the extent of suggesting that if Majee came he would not even fill Macdonald Hall. Well, Macdonald Hall is a community hall situated in Mzilikazi, near Barbourfields Stadium. The hall has a capacity of roughly 200 people. Simply put, he could have been saying Majee has no more than 200 supporters in Bulawayo alone.
Many people, especially the young, did not take kindly to the statement. Many felt it was a jibe at Majee. And many of those that reacted did so in defence of Lovemore Majaivana. They took Cont’s comments verbatim and went on defence mode. To be fair it was not the first time Cont Mhlanga had commented on Lovemore Majaivana’s possible return and his sentiments never change. He simply does not think Majee should return and frankly he has good reasons. It is important that when we analyse his comments and sentiments we should take time to understand the subtext and the deeper meaning.
The first reason Cont says Majaivana should never come back home and back into the arts is because he truly knows why Majaivana left in the first place. Lovemore Majaivana left because he was not getting enough support to sustain his life and that of his band through music. He left a frustrated man. So Cont Mhlanga is right to ask where were the people who now want him to return? Where were they when Lovemore needed their support? Where were they when he was performing to near empty venues? Where were they when his music was lying on shelves — not bought?
Secondly, unlike Thomas Mapfumo who left the country and continued with his music, Lovemore Majaivana left and changed his life and career altogether. We hear he is now a serious minister of the word and running a serious trucking business. Why would he leave all that and suddenly go back to the frustrations of the life he ran away from? Why? Cont Mhlanga also asks a pertinent question. Are those asking for Majaivana’s return thinking beyond the one or two shows that could attract good crowds because of nostalgia? What will happen after the one or two shows have been done? What will happen when the nostalgia is gone?
It is important to remove emotions when entering into this debate about the return of Majee. My advice to those that jump into this debate and start hurling insults at the old man is look for the deeper meaning of his words and sentiments first. There is so much underneath his words. To borrow from a friend I think all Cont is saying is “people should support their own and not wait for them to struggle their way up the ladder and then claim them”. Bulawayo should not wait until an artiste is frustrated out of the sector to start appreciating them and clamour for his coming back. He warns Bulawayo to set its own trends and not want to do things because another city is doing it. He says our people should take initiatives to support local artistes before they give up. He says before we all clamour for Majee to come back are we supporting the artistes that are there and crying for support?
His words may sound harsh to many, but that is the Cont Mhlanga we know. He doesn’t sugar-coat the truth. He tells it like it is.
