Sandra Mandizvidza
11 October 2008
Thomas Mapfumo has accused the South African government of discriminating against him after he was denied a visa to travel to Mzansi for a performance.
The legendary US-based Zimbabwean musician was scheduled to perform at the Durban 12th Poetry Festival in South Africa last week, but failed to secure visas for himself and his band.
In a statement Linda Rowan-Faye, Mapfumo's Hawaii-based agent, said the musician was denied a visa though his documents were in order.
Rowan-Faye said: "As Mapfumo's booking agent, I will state at this moment that all necessary documents were in place for Thomas to travel to RSA and he was denied a visa in the UK days before his departure."
"It is my opinion that the RSA government is discriminating someone who possesses legal United States of America travel documents and work permits to enter the RSA."
Efforts to get a comment from the South African Embassy in London, where Mapfumo was at the time of the visa application, were fruitless.
Rowan-Faye said Mapfumo's experience was another example of how Africans are mistreated and subjected to interrogation and disrespect from other governments worldwide, regardless of their legal and human rights.
"The lack of progress and diplomacy regarding human rights is shocking and distressing. Thomas, who champions the pursuit of human rights and equality, is being denied the opportunity to further his voice in his native African continent," she said.
Last week, organisers of the 12th Poetry Africa festival said in a statement that Mapfumo's "asylum status travel documents were not in order".
"We were advised extremely late notice that his asylum status travel documents are not in order and despite exhaustive efforts on the part of our team to rescue the situation the matter was out of our control," said Sharlene Versfeld, a spokeswoman for the Centre for Creative Arts -- organisers of the festival.
She said they had to replace Mapfumo at the last minute with other South African musicians.
Mapfumo was also expected to perform at a special post-festival events organised by the African Synergy Book Cafe on October 5 and 6 in Johannesburg.
The Chimurenga guru, who last came to Zimbabwe in 2004, also snubbed the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA)-organised Sanganai/Hlanganani Show that is scheduled for October 18 in Bulawayo.
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