“We suffer because the leaders are greedy”

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Avhapfani Gabara (56) is not your average musician. He fearlessly confronts the powers that be of the nation about issues of greediness and corruption in the big offices in his latest album, 'Mana a mutukana ...'.

“I won't be happy as long as inflation continues to kill us, while our leaders enjoy the privileges that come with their offices,” said Gabara, the very gentleman of Muyavhuhadzi fame. “In this country, we are suffering because of the greedy leaders who only think of themselves.”

Politics aside, 'Mana a mutukana …' is an album worth listening to, with stand-out songs such as Khaladzi, Sumbandila and Ni Mmbengelani. In Khaladzi, the musician urges young girls to focus on getting themselves educated because, in his view, no modern man should marry an uneducated woman.

“Girls must make education their first priority in life,” he said. “In today's world, an uneducated girl is like an empty drum behind the door in a dry, rainless season – that drum is useless because it has no water inside it.”

In this album, Gabara worked with The New Toronto Band that comprises Humbulani Mufamadi, Mpho Gabara, Edzisani Tshiambara and Rofhiwa Gabara.

“I sing the kind of music which encourages understanding and respect within the family and in relationships,” he explained.

On this eight-track album, there is one song which is a true masterpiece, and it is sung in Afrikaans. Ek verlang na my liefde is a love song where the singer expresses his longing for his loved one. Only what sounds like acoustic guitars are used in the making of this ballad.

The song U fhata mudi has earned Gabasa a nomination in this year's Tshivenda Music Awards, in the Tshingondo category. “My fans can vote for me by SMSing 'Tshingondo B' to 33459,” said Gabara.

By: Tshifhiwa Mukwevho

Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho was born in 1984 in Madombidzha village, not far from Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo Province. After submitting articles for roughly a year for Limpopo Mirror's youth supplement, Makoya, he started writing for the main newspaper. He is a prolific writer who published his first book, titled A Traumatic Revenge in 2011. It focusses on life on the street and how to survive amidst poverty. His second book titled The Violent Gestures of Life was published in 2014.