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Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent
ORGANISERS of the Roil Bulawayo Arts Awards (RoilBAA) have come out to explain why some nominees were included on the list after an outcry on social and public media.
The RoilBAAs will be held at the Bulawayo Large City Hall on May 26.
Following the release of the nominees’ list last week at the Bulawayo Theatre, questions started circulating as to why some categories were included.
Categories such as Deejaying, Lifestyle & Fashion, Film and Male Artiste of the year were included.
For the first time hip hop artistes who are usually first to make noise about nominees in the various categories, did not make noise about the awards.
RoilBAA spokesperson Nkululeko Nkala said while they respect that people are entitled to their opinions, they had to explain.
“Awards the world over always court debate because creatives are passionate people, so we understand where the comments are coming from. This is why we decided to come out and shed light on the sticky points validly pointed out by people,” said Nkala.
He said in the DJ category, the nominees were monitored by judges and some industry consultants.
“Most of the nominations for the DJ award were from our online platform. Seven DJs were short listed and the judges sat and decided who fitted the bill. The judges looked at the impact of a DJ such as their social media response, visibility and the quality of their works,” said Nkala.
On social media, the Lifestyle and Fashion category caused a stir after photographer Mgcini Nyoni torched a storm saying there was only one nomination that made sense and that was of Shadel Noble.
“That whole category is called Lifestyle and Fashion, it’s not all about modelling. Everyone there has notable achievements from the ramp to designers with some even winning national awards while others have showcased outside the country. What’s sad about the arguments on social media is that it degenerated into personal attacks rather than a debate on products or just the awards,” said Nkala.
In the Film and Television category, two products Jaiva Sibone and Dlala Ngamla were questionable nominations because they premiered a week after the closing date for the RoilBAA submissions of nominees.
However, Nkala said the world over, the template was that films can be submitted for awards consideration before premiering.
“Here we are judging the quality of productions. For example Jaiva Sibone was produced in December and was rightly submitted for consideration by the adjudicators,” said Nkala.
In the Male Artiste of the year category, the inclusion of radio personality, comedian and DJ Babongile Sikhonjwa was also questioned, but Nkala explained, saying: “As for Babongile Sikhonjwa, he’s probably the best club DJ in the city. Also when we talk comedy he featured in probably half the comedy shows in the city last year. He’s a radio DJ who we’ve seen rise by the day and as an entrepreneur he stands his ground. All in all Babongile is moving his brand”.
Online Reporter