Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Trust Khosa
15 March 2008
Harare — The much-hyped "benefit shows" to raise funds for ailing sungura giant Tongai Moyo - who is battling against cancer - have been called off following concerns by the intended beneficiary that some musicians and promoters were trying to exploit his illness to make money.
UK-based promoter, Fanuel Madzvamuse, is understood to have been planning one such gig which would have featured Alick Macheso.
Cheso Power - the stable that manages Macheso's business affairs - said this week that they had put the shows on ice to avoid unnecessary bickering. William Tsandukwa of Cheso Power said: "We would have loved to assist Tongai with the money for his medication.
"We were only doing it as friends in the same industry but with what he said in the Press, we had to wash our hands on the matter because it has created a lot of unnecessary confusion. "At times, it's not wise to force matters when we see that it is practically impossible like in this case.
"Tongai has made it clear to the nation that he is not broke and that he is not a charity case.
"If I may add, he has also made it clear to the world that he has some businesses and policies to sustain himself and why should we force things?" said Tsandukwa.
The manager said they had plans to hold a show in Kwekwe to assist the artiste but all had turned futile at the last minute.
In a separate interview, Tongai maintained that he was not a charity case.
He cited planning boobs on the side of the UK-based promoter, who is currently in Harare, and Cheso Power Promotions whom he said were misleading the nation into believing that they were holding fundraising shows for him.
"I don't have any problem sharing the stage with Macheso. But I don't like a situation whereby people end up saying that had it not been of Macheso that could have been the end of me.
"To be honest, our fans talk too much ende ndinozviziva kuti hazvimboperera pasho-o iyoyo," he said.
Tongai said he was managing to foot his medical bills adding that his doctors had told him that he was steadily improving.
"By the way, chemotherapy is not that expensive and I can tell you that the first time I was operated on, it cost me $660 million. Afterwards, I paid $1,2 billion and $4, 2 billion on the latest treatment.
"So, do you think I can't raise that little?" asked Moyo.
"I have also been told that under the deal, the (UK-based) promoter was supposed to pay Macheso any amount he would ask for me to perform at the show since we are both crowd pullers.
"Still, under the deal, I was going to take the gate-takings while the promoter would be selling beer.
"To me, it was also going to give an impression that Macheso performed for free at the show. But guys, we are adults and we can't run business that way."
The only problem with the deal, Tongai said, was that the promoter was not being open on how he intended to go about the deal from the beginning.
"What I felt they could have done was to simply organise a proper show like any other joint effort we had before. We have shared the stage together with Macheso but for people to come to me pretending to be Good Samaritans irks me a lot," fumed Tongai.
Contacted for comment, an enraged Madzvamuse demanded to know the people who had exposed him and the deal.
"Ndiyani akuudza izvozvo? You must tell me the person who has divulged that information because as far as I know, the deal has been sealed and the shows are definitely going ahead.
"Mopao (Alick Machso ) was here in the hotel together with his wife and we had a good conversation because ndakatsvagira mwana wake musikana nzvimbo yechikoro kuUnited Kingdom.
"If there are any changes, in what capacity did they tell you about our deal since I am the one bankrolling the shows?" he asked.
It also emerged that Madzvamuse might have approached Macheso directly, which angered the Cheso Power management who handle such issues as they are the ones who make bookings and all other pre-show arrangements.
On the other hand, Tsandukwa said Madzvamuse had not contacted him.
"Ipapo handipo. Kana vakataurirana vari vega in handipo because I am the one responsible for bookings," he said.
l In an earlier interview last weekend, Macheso blamed those who might be exploiting Tongai Moyo's illness for personal financial gain.
"It is bad that some people want to take advantage of a fellow musician's health to make money.
"Those who get money under the guise of helping Tongai should be considerate -- they should not take that as an opportunity of making money.
"We will plan as a group and come up with a date when we will hold the benefit show for Tongai and it would be a show without any monetary rewards for us.
"My promotion company - Cheso Power Promotions -- will host the show and we will not be working with any promoter.
"We will get one or two groups to help us and we (Cheso Power) will be footing the expenses of such a group," said Macheso.
He dismissed word doing the rounds that three former BV Labien Musica dancers who had joined Tongai were now part of Orchestra Mberikwazvo.
"No one joined our band from BV Labien Musica or Tongai Moyo. There is one Tafadzwa who only danced at one of our shows and I understand they have started their own dancing group," Macheso said.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 The Herald. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
