For this week’s #ThrowBackThursday we list 5 yesteryear songs about the state of affairs in Zimbabwe you can still relate to. Please feel free to add any suggestions in the comments:
1. Asila Mali – Edwin Hama
Asila Mali (“We have no money”) was released in the early ’90s, a time of economic upheaval in Zimbabwe after the government adopted the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP). I guess the money problem never got fixed.
2. Hupenyu Mutoro – Leonard Zhakata
This song speaks of trying and not giving up which is the daily routine for the majority of Zimbabweans. As the title says “Life is a burden”.
3. Mamvemve – Thomas Mapfumo
A song from one of Zimbabwe’s political commentators. Mamvemve (loosely translated to mean tatters) is a description of the state of Zimbabwe for many.
4. Seiko Mwari- Oliver Mtukudzi
This is a simple prayer and a question that every Christian asks when the going seems to keep going tough.
5. Kumusha- Mitchell Jambo ft Prince Tendai
When everything else fails you can still go home (kumusha). However Jambo and company remind us you have to work first before you go there. He also asks poverty why it torments him and requests that it stops following him. NB: I do that too sometimes.