Music Freedom Report no. 5: Politics and music in Africa • 3 March 2012

Youssou N’Dour. Joe la Conscience. Tiken Jah Fakoly. Fabrice Munfiritsa photographed Anneke Verbraeken.

Africa: The sorrows of music in presidential elections

Several countries in Africa held presidential elections in 2011 or will hold them in 2012. Everywhere is the same sad story of scandals against music and musicians, reports Télesphore Mba Bizo who observes the developments in the French- speaking part of Africa.

By Télesphore Mba Bizo

Democratic Republic of Congo: Musician kidnapped Singer Fabrice Munfiritsa nearly died in the presidential election in the Democratic Republic of Congo. On 7 November 2011 he was found lying in a suburb of Goma, a river town in the western part of Congo, near Uganda, abandoned in the bush, handcuffed, blindfolded and helpless.

The singer clearly suffered physical abuse, but it is hard to identify those behind this attack. The first statements were accusing the ruling party. Some sources hold that Fabrice Munfiritsa was about to release an album which would sing the praises of opposition candidates in the presidential and legislative elections, especially Kamerhe Vidal. Therefore, a finger was pointed out at the government in Kinshasa.

People suspected the powers that be of hating Fabrice Munfiritsa, owing to his acquaintance with opposition parties’ members. Against all odds, the artist denied everything in an interview broadcast on Radio 1 Kivu. He said he was surprised of his closeness with opposition parties and claims to have always been part of the ruling party as is the case with all his family members.

The ruling party denounced the abuse against Fabrice Munfiritsa. The party acknowledged the artist’s membership. Moreover, President Joseph Kabila sent two members of his cabinet to Goma on 10 November 2011, Deputy Prime Minister of Home Affairs and Security, Adolphe Lumanu, and the Minister of Social Affairs and Humanitarian Action, Fernand Kambere. News leaked that they came to facilitate the medical evacuation of Fabrice Munfiritsa to India. City authorities by then had already taken care of emergency expenses.

Côte d’Ivoire: Playing on music’s unifying factor In Côte d’Ivoire, the latest post-electoral violence accounts for 3,000 deaths. Here, football appears to have whitewashed music in the sense that no musician was appointed in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that has to assess the 10-year long bloody war in the country, but a football star was. Chelsea-striker and world football star Didier Drogba who hails from Bete land like toppled president Laurent Gbagbo is expected to contribute to peace and reconciliation thanks to his repute. Even if his busy schedule did less to prevent officials from appointing him – Commission Chair Charles Konan-Banny admitted that Drogba shall hardly attend the commission’s working sessions.

Politicians whom the crisis is blamed on are the same people overcrowding the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. However, it can still catch up. Commission members are expected to devise unity and integration strategies among Ivorians.

Yet, music may still play a crucial role in the peace-building process. ‘One Single Voice for Côte d’Ivoire’ is a project that brought together Ivoirian artists with charisma such as Fanny J, Teeyah, Soum Bill, Tiken Jah Fakoly, Yodé-Siro, Passy, and Monique Seka. Other musicians across the continent and West Indies joined the peace-singing crew: Papa Wemba, Lokua Kanza, Jacob Desvarieux, Lynnsha, Nash, Singuila, and Kamnouze.

Reggae leading light Alpha Blondy was assigned by present Head of State Alassane Dramane Ouattara to organise a campaign with some 20 fellow artists in favour of peace and reconciliation in the country. The event is unprecedented as Alpha Blondy accepted to sing together with his former “enemy” Tiken Jah Fakoly, another prominent reggae virtuoso performer.

Music’s unifying factor is unique in the country as regions in conflict could still enjoy music from left and right, regardless of the region of authors.

Cameroon: Singers in and out of jail The presidential election in Côte d’Ivoire had an afterplay in Cameroon where singer Joe la Conscience took upon him to become the far-away lawyer of Côte d’Ivoire-president Laurent Gbagbo. The singer is celebrated for activism as Cameroon’s most censored artist, and hardly for arts quality. He released a song requesting the liberation of former Ivorian President. However, Cameroon has been consistent with its non-interference policy about sovereign countries’ internal affairs. Therefore, Cameroon had no position for or against Laurent Gbabgo or Alassane Dramane Ouattara being sworn in. This led Joe la Conscience into police cells several times. However, Joe la Conscience did not appear in

2 court. He was intimidated for the sake of keeping quiet as he had to stop embarrassing diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Later on, Joe la Conscience turned into a prosecutor. He sued fellow artists Petit-Pays and Lady Ponce in court. The artists’ rights activist initiated these legal proceedings on ground that the two accused musicians sing excess pornography. Nakedness in lyrics is moral corruption and can mislead the youths who represent the future of Cameroon, said Joe la Conscience. The Cameroon Radio Television, CRTV, state-run and owned sole audiovisual media was criticised for broadcasting those songs. His opponents kept a low profile. There has been no follow-up into the matter so far.

Singer Lapiro de Mbanga who served a three year jail term for his song ‘Constitution Constipée’, is now expecting some compensation from the state. He rose against the constitution’s amendment that lifted term limitation at presidential position. He is claiming that detainees are to undergo some reinsertion process so as to prepare them to face new life after prison. This never happened. In February 2012, a United Nations expert group insisted that Cameroon should compensate Lapiro because his rights were violated.

Senegal: Abuse against famous singer In Senegal, the country’s most famous singer, Youssou N’Dour, was out for creating change. As the presidential elections were coming up, he saw no profile that was capable of defeating the incumbent president Wade.

The country has been enjoying democracy for decades. President Léopold Sédar Senghor and President Abdou Diouf both departed peacefully. Credit goes to both for establishing a legacy of a strong and unprecedented democratic record for Senegal on the African continent. So far, the history of bloodshed and repeated “coups” that Africa has been sadly championing over the last five decades following the independence days of the 1960s did not include Senegal.

But Youssou N’Dour shall not raise the electoral bar as high as Michel Martelli – the singer who was elected President in Haiti on 21 April 2011. On the contrary, Youssou N’Dour was denied the opportunity to stand for presidential election in Senegal in a bid to replicate what happened in the maiden black nation to go independent in the world.

The international community received this as a blow against democracy and freedom after France, former colonial master, and the United States of America reacted. The general wish was that the number of candidates be as high as possible for effective representation of Senegalese diversity of political opinions.

The world music star was under fire for months. Some cabinet members went mad as he made public his intention to challenge incumbent Wade. Senegalese ministers claimed that N’Dour’s academic abilities are meaningless: He lacks school and university knowledge to run state affairs, they said. As a consequence, they could not see him fit for any position at the helm of the country. Senegalese ruling party ministers strongly held that Youssou N’Dour should stick to singing and dancing which he excels at.

The abuse against Youssou N’Dour caught many off guard. Human rights organisations are strong-willed to stop Wade from going for an additional term of office. But no member of a civil society organisation has ever made a breakthrough in any Senegalese

3 presidential election, according to Forum Civile, the local country section of Transparency International.

Now, forces of law and order are cracking down on the young members of the Y’en a marre’s movement, which also includes a number of rappers. It is a group of young and dynamic people who are fed up of Wade’s infinity in power and who take to the streets and demand his unconditional exit. The country feels the pinch of the on-going situation: post- electoral Senegal guarantees less serenity and security.

Exploitation of traditional musicians The three countries Cameroon, DR Congo and Gabon held presidential elections of recent, and apart from being endowed with tropical forest, they also share certain patterns when it comes to election campaigns. The powers that be share the same neglecting and exploiting attitude towards artists, and they have a preference for using rural, traditional music in their political campaigns.

Teenagers and young adults prefer R&B music and hip-hop. But they are also known for hardly casting their votes in an election, so the political leaders instead aim at reaching citizens of a certain age – those who prefer listening to traditional music.

Politicians depend on songs and dances from villages to warm up supporters. Most political leaders dance to the tune of traditional music to convince sceptical citizens. It displays their sense of belonging and respect for tradition. They wish to show that even though they settled in cities,they never neglected their villages, and as such, they deserve people’s confidence.

Political rallies end up with actives forces going round dancers. They go around distributing brown envelopes. There are bank notes inside – of a value between 10 and 20 euro. It represents the salary of 8 to 15 artists who have spent 12 hours jumping and creaming in honour of those who empty state’s coffers. They are the first to get to the venue so as to prompt onlookers to attend rallies.

They leave when all senior citizens are gone in as much as political jamborees hardly start on time. Keeping the grass-roots waiting for hours is a display of influence. In their speeches they focus on construction of roads, hospitals, schools or markets. The status of artists, various international legal instruments to ratify and implement, and budgets of Ministries of Culture are ignored.

At the end, hand-clappers do their work. The exploitation of traditional artists goes unnoticed. Yet, artists have worked. But their pay voucher does not allow them to satisfy basic needs at home. A typical, ordinary family headed by an artist counts five people: man, wife, and three kids. The luckiest takes home some four euro from the assignment at the rally. The family lives on it for seven days before the next rally holds. Basic needs such as food, clothes or shelters are a challenge to traditional musicians. Education and health needs compel them to go back to old habits in the bush like farming and hunting for day- to-day survival.

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About the author Télesphore Mba Bizo is a journalist and translator with the Cameroon Radio Television, CRTV. Arterial Network assigned him with the task of coordinating Artwatch in French- speaking Africa. The project is out to monitor and promote freedom of creative expression across the continent. It shall culminate in publishing an African Cultural Barometer. He also doubles as the Coordinator of the Advocacy and Legal Centre, ALAC, against corruption of Transparency International in Cameroon, and he is conducting a research on the lack of integrity in media coverage in Cameroon. He is member of the International Federation of Film Critics, FIPRESCI, and has been part of Arterial Network’ steering committee since 2009.

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Albert Nyathi, Nelson Chamisa, Paul Madzore, Webster Shamu

Explosive cocktail when music is mixed with politics

Of all the policies and principles guiding the censorship of music by the Zimbabwe public broadcaster ZBC, it is the political issue that poses the biggest threat to the development of musical expression in the country. While musicians are supposed to mirror society, speak for the voiceless and play a major role in being the people’s conscience and of reminding politicians of their duty to society, their role has been diluted as they are forced to sing for their super and most times singing pro- Mugabe hymns.

By Maxwell Sibanda

At the pace in which Zimbabwe’s current Minister of Information Webster Shamu, who doubles as Zanu PF political commissar, is coordinating efforts by various musical bands aligned to his party to record and release propaganda music albums and videos, there will be little space on both radio and television for independent minded musicians when Zimbabwe holds its next general elections, something which could happen later this year or in 2013.

Over the past year Shamu has been busy launching several propaganda music albums and videos as his party geared for a possible election soon. Zanu PF musical acts including Amos Mahendere, Delani Makhalima and The Born Free have released albums which are dominating the airwaves.

In most of the video footage contained in their songs, Mugabe is the main character as his party rallies to portray him as “the dear leader”. Mugabe has been all over the television as musicians aligned to Zanu PF exploit on his image to spruce their videos footage. Those musicians who have included Mugabe’s footage in their musical videos are assured of saturated airplay and they seem to be falling on each other.

In other musical videos, Mugabe’s old speeches are spiced with guitars, and his image is accompanied by beautiful smiling girls as the leader spews his propaganda. True to technological form, his speeches are fast forwarded and for once you could think Mugabe is actually singing. In one video Mugabe’s image is manipulated and is seen indulged in a game of football together with images of several other Zanu PF politicians.

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Self-censorship criterion During the latest three years, music has been discovered as an effective tool for political campaigning by President Robert Mugabe and his former ruling party Zanu PF. Meanwhile, musicians with independent minds are wary of their songs being censored or banned by the state controlled broadcaster ZBC.

The scenario builds a self-censorship criterion within state radio disc jockeys and television presenters in that no “dissident” songs can be aired parallel to songs that glorify Mugabe.

Towards the end of 2011, two ‘independent’ commercial radio stations with strong links to Zanu PF were licensed as authorities tried to wood wink SADC – a network of 15 countries in the region entitled the Southern African Development Community – and the rest of the world that it was opening up the broadcasting spectrum ahead of elections. SADC and international facilitators to the Zimbabwean crisis have put a condition in which no credible elections would be held without meaningful broadcasting reforms.

“We will never play that music” A case in point is that opposition political parties, and in particular MDC-T, has released several political albums that have been denied airplay at the state broadcaster. MDC-T has since 2008 been releasing several music albums that include legislator Paul Madzore’s three albums: ‘ Chirangano , Tinovarangarira’ and ‘ Tora Uta Hwangu’ and Francis Chikunguru’s ‘ Mumwe Mukana’ . In 2011, MDC-T released a five track album entitled ‘ Real Change’ that was launched in Gokwe by its president Morgan Tsvangirai.

In an interview, ZBC’s public relations manager Sivukile Simango said he only had seen one MDC-T album which had been presented to the corporation: “I have not seen all these albums they claim,” Simango told.

Asked what happened to the single album he received, he replied: “We did not play it and we will never play it on ZBC, never. I can refer you to Muchechetere (ZBC CEO) so that he can comment on issues of policy, but as of now I can just tell you that we will never play that music.”

Music of opposition silenced Nelson Chamisa, MDC-T organising secretary and government minister, said censorship was rife at the state broadcaster and they were not even ashamed of it. He said whenever they had new music releases they handed them over ZBC.

“They never play them and we have got it on good authority that as soon as the albums are received at ZBC, the chefs there take them and play them in their cars. It is funny because we are giving them these releases so they play them for the generality of Zimbabwe. It is a form of censorship that is unacceptable. Since 2008 we have been producing music but the ZBC does not give our music airplay. We have used other multimedia communication devices, like the Internet, where the songs can be downloaded from our party website,” told Chamisa.

Chamisa said his party’s songs were celebrating their successes as they fought to bring real change to Zimbabweans: “The songs are about our struggle to build a new Zimbabwe. Our music depicts the future and celebrates the past road which has been very difficult.

7 We have better music productions whose lyrics were not abusive but ZBC continued to deny them air play.”

While the MDC-T album was launched almost simultaneously with a pro-Zanu (PF) eight- track music compilation album by Mbare Chimurenga choir entitled Nyatsoterera , Shona for ‘listen carefully’, the later has since been receiving saturated aerial play on ZBC to the extent that everyone is singing it. The MDC-T album has since not received a single play.

Repressive and propaganda context Musician Albert Nyathi, who is chairman of Zimbabwe Music Rights Association, said the ZBC should learn to practice a game of fair play. “As a public broadcaster, the ZBC has to be fair to the musicians, unless the music is insulting or vulgar. As a public broadcaster they should serve the interest of all musicians.”

Harare-based political analyst Abel Gomo said Zanu PF was desperate and would try everything in its power to tilt elections in their favour by censoring all opposing voices through the state broadcaster.

“Apart from frog marching people to their rallies so that they can gulp their propaganda, Zanu PF will make sure that every time someone turns on his radio or television, Mugabe will be there,” said Gomo.

MISA-Zimbabwe information officer Nyasha Nyakunu said: “In the midst of the protest music and its brave purveyors, there are those that have retained comfort in composing music that deals largely with religion and other social issues that the government is comfortable with. Most of these artists, both long-standing figures and newer ones on Zimbabwe’s music scene have been daring enough to put their ‘artistic’ talents at the disposal of the ruling Zanu PF party, thus violating the significant principle of artistic independence. While it remains in the interests of freedom of expression for these artists to compose whatever they wish, it also remains even more important that they understand the repressive and propaganda context in which they are complicit in participating.”

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About the author Maxwell Sibanda is a freelance arts journalist based in Harare, Zimbabwe. He has been a member of the executive committee of Freemuse and was an editor and co-founder of the Harare-based Daily News until it was banned for its critical stance towards President Robert Mugabe's regime.

8 About the Music Freedom Reports This Music Freedom Report is part of a series of articles published on the occasion of the annual Music Freedom Day 3 March 2012. More information about the reports and about Music Freedom Day can be found on: musicfreedomday.org

More information For more information about music and censorship in African countries, see: freemuse.org/sw10299.asp

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