Conflicting statements over Sizzla land offer
Monday, 26 April 2010 11:41
FRESH controversy surrounds government’s dealings with Jamaican reggae artist Sizzla Kalonji following reports that he has been given a farm in exchange for singing President Robert Mugabe’s praises. Although Media, Information and Publicity minister, Webster Shamu dismissed the allegations that Sizzla, believed to be still holed in the country, had been given land in Chinhoyi, his publicist in Jamaica has given conflicting statements about the issue.
The gay-bashing singer performed at Mugabe’s 86th birthday party in Bulawayo and government officials said he was not paid any cash for that effort.
“The information that we paid him with land to support us is obviously a figment of some people’s imagination,” Shamu said on Friday.
“Instead of celebrating that we have a musician of Sizzla’s stature supporting a fighter of imperialism like President Mugabe, we have people like you demonising another black man.”
But he said there was nothing that could stop the Jamaican from being given a farm in Zimbabwe because he was black.
Since 2000, the government has been pushing white commercial farms off their land saying the land belongs to indigenous Zimbabweans.
“Sizzla is coming from a past of slavery and not a background of plundering other peoples’ wealth like that of the white people you entertain and glorify,” Shamu lashed out.
However Olimatta Taal, Sizzla’s publicist had earlier in the week told The Jamaican Star newspaper that government had offered the singer a farm for his performance instead of cash.
She told The Standard in a wide ranging interview through Skype that “when he accepted the land he is in support of the land reclamation programme, which is only natural for all daughters and sons of Africa against slavery and colonialism, especially apartheid, one of the most brutal manifestations known to humanity.”
But when pressed further, the publicist was singing a different tune claiming that the statements applied only “if he had at all been given the land.”
She claimed the Jamaican newspaper had quoted her out of context.
“What I do know is that he is not doing PR for Zanu PF and that he is not on the run, he is not a fugitive, he is not under investigation for armed robbery and murder and that is what I was defending,” she said.
Retired Major Anywhere Mutambudzi, the executive director of music galas refused to confirm if Sizzla was paid off with land.
“I can neither confirm nor deny what you are saying because I don’t know anything about that,” he said.
“In actual fact, when have we started paying people with land? I have not been following what he has been doing. If he bought land he has a right to do so like any other interested person.”
Sizzla who has been protected from the media by his promoter in Zimbabwe, Nhamo Chitimbe could not be reached for comment.
But a fortnight ago he told South Africa’s Mail&Guardian that he supported the land grab.
BY JOHN MOKWETSI