Following the highly successful Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi memorial celebrations in South Africa on Tuesday, Zimbabwe is staging its own edition of the event on February 16.
The local edition, scheduled for Glamis Arena in Harare, is being organised by the ministry of Arts and Recreation, in conjunction with the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe.
Going under the banner “Tuku Peace Memorial Concert,” the Harare event will run from 1000hours to 2000hours.
The South African event was held at Joburg Theatre in Braamfontein.
“Local and international artists who collaborated with Mtukudzi are billed to perform. Entrance is absolutely free and gates will open from 1000hrs.
“The concert is our nation’s befitting honour and tribute being paid to the selfless life of Mtukudzi, our Pan-Africanist, our cultural hero and national icon, our unifier and peace-maker par excellence,” the ministry’s permanent secretary Thokozile Chitepo said.
“Through his music and modesty, the late Mtukudzi embodied Zimbabwean values of Unhu/Ubuntu. His vision for peace, which he spread through his music and dance, transcends the boundaries of gender, generations and nations; it knows neither colour nor creed. He championed, exuded, lived and left us a culture of peace.”
Mtukudzi, the first musician to be declared a national hero, died on January 23 at Avenues Clinic in Harare and was buried in his rural home of Madziwa in Mashonaland Central.
Chitepo urged Zimbabweans to come in numbers to celebrate the life of the late music icon.
“Let us come in our numbers, as family and friends from the four corners of our nation and beyond, to honour and celebrate the life and legacy that Mtukudzi left us,” she said.
