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George Maponga in BIKITA
THE people of Bikita had a memorable night on Thursday at an all-night Heroes and Defence Forces national gala held at Gwindingwi High School grounds at Nyika Growth Point, with Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Dr Jenfan Muswere attending.
The Minister urged all to emulate the hard work, commitment and sacrifices made by the country’s heroes and work in unison to build the nation towards President Mnangagwa’s vision of an upper middle income society by 2030.
It was a mixed musical menu for the huge crowd that packed Gwindingwi grounds with genres such as sungura, Zimdancehall, gospel, kanindo, traditional dance and fusion keeping both the young and the old on their feet from 6pm on Thursday to 6am yesterday morning.
Among the crowd were people from far afield as Zaka, Gutu and Masvingo district who braved the night and travelled to Nyika Growth Point for the gala that lived up to its billing.
The crowd was dancing all night with most of the artists giving polished performances that befitted commemoration of the country’s living and departed heroes and the defence forces who have the painstaking task of jealously guarding the country’s independence and territorial integrity.
Trend-setting sungura dynamo Mark Ngwazi was undeniably the star of the night with a scintillating performance that left the crowd yelling for more.
The crowd sang along and jumped in unison as Ngwazi belted the hit song, “Nyaradzo Yababa.” The young Ngwazi justified why the nation’s hopes on the survival of the sungura genre should rest on his shoulders.
Zimdancehall icon and crowd favourite Enzo Ishall gave a polished act that also saw the crowd singing along some of his hit songs that when he left the stage after performing for 30 minutes the crowd had still not had enough of him.
Another top performer as expected was Chief Hwenje who went on the stage around 11pm and wowed the crowd with his revolutionary songs especially the hit song, “Mai Welly.”
It was during Chief Hwenje’s performance that also saw senior government officials led by Dr Muswere, his Permanent Secretary Mr Nick Mangwana and Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Permanent Secretary, Dr Addmore Pazvakavambwa, also getting to the dance floor much to the cheer of the crowd
Bikita West National Assembly MP Daniel Nhakaiso Makusha, Masvingo War Veterans League chairman Retired Major General Gibson Mashingaidze, Zanu PF Masvingo provincial vice chairman Cde Trust Mugabe and the party’s provincial secretary for commissariat Cde Brian Munyoro also showcased their dancing skills on the stage.
Before Chief Hwenje had performed in the company of his young son, DJ Fantan had raised the morale of the crowd with an energetic performance that captivated the crowd.
Plumtree-based sungura crooner Philip Magwaza acquitted himself well endearing himself and his band to the crowd through their electric ‘museve’ dances.
Gospel diva Dorcas Moyo also put a memorable show and energetic dances getting acclaim from the crowd.
The ZCC Mutendi Brass Band did not disappoint on home turf with the crowd dancing along when the band belted the hit anthem , “Ndire Ndire.” The band also played renditions of some of the liberation war songs.
Tendai Dembo, son to the late sungura legend Leonard Dembo, gave a polished performance taking the crowd down the memory lane by belting out his late father’s songs. The crowd cheered him most when he sang the legendary song ‘Chitekete’.
The gala had kicked off around 6pm with the Great Zimbabwe University Choir amongst the first groups to perform and acquitting itself very well. Andy Muridzo also gave a top shelf performance as the gala approached its end with the Zimbabwe Defence Forces Band, which was one of the last groups to entertain the crowd, giving a polished performance.
Speaking on the sidelines of the gala Dr Muswere said the hosting of the event at Nyika Growth point spoke to the Government’s decentralisation agenda and was in sync with the “leaving no one and no place behind philosophy” being championed by the Second Republic.
“The gala itself is a celebration of our unity as a country while at the same time honouring the sacrifices of our heroes, the living and the departed for their fortitude, hard work and commitment to see a free Zimbabwe.
“Celebrating the importance of our heroes is part of our heritage, we are celebrating the military organisational prowess of our heroes that culminated in the attainment of independence.
“We encourage Zimbabweans to emulate their heroes, the departed and the living and amongst the living we have President Mnangagwa who started his fight against Rhodesian colonial rule here in Masvingo where he was involved in the bombing of a locomotive,” Dr Muswere said.
“We are saying our people should emulate the deeds of our heroes because today we are now celebrating freedom, democracy and independence because of the work they did. Our people today are participating actively in all sectors of the economy and driving socio-economic transformation towards Vision 2030 and this is thanks to our heroes and must be celebrated.,” he added.
Enzo Ishall said he would always feel honoured to perform on key national gatherings like galas saying it gives him pleasure to be involved in celebrating the country’s heroes. Chief Hwenje said celebrating the country’s heroes was very important as it inculcates important lessons about the nation’s history to the young generations.
Some of the people in the crowd came as far as Vhunjere in Gutu South and most of them thanking the Second Republic for decentralising national events like galas to afford those in remote parts of the country an opportunity to be at the centre of the celebrations.
Online Reporter