Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Richmore Tera and Nyore Madzianike
29 August 2009
Harare — HARD times still haunt sungura musician Hosiah Chipanga: Recent revelations by his former landlords say he was failing to pay rent for the seven-roomed Chitungwiza house he occupies.
Chipanga himself admits times are rough: it's true he can't pay the rent, he says. He, wife Maina Mpofu, their three children, Donewell, Delight and Definite, and members of his band had been staying at the house since 2006 when they relocated from Mutare.
But the going finally got tough for the Kwachu Kwachu hitmaker. He packed his bags and moved to nearby location, a mere five-minute drive from his previous, rather plush residence.
The reason? He couldn't raise the US$210 a month for the seven rooms they occupied. Each room cost US$30. As most musicians in his class hold a maximum of three shows a week, Chipanga could have raised the US$210 in just three days!
But he couldn't' take it any more. He accused his landlords of engaging in "continuous hikes" which he says were "unjustified" "They kept hiking the rent. This was contrary to our agreement. So when they hiked their rent the last time, I simply told them I could no longer afford it and left.
"It took them two months to find another tenant," he said. Ironically, Chipanga and his family are now renting five rooms in the more affluent suburb of Unit B, a mere five-minute drive from his previous place.
Asked to explain the rationale of moving to a more upmarket suburb than before, Chipanga said he was not happy with the environment at his former residence. "Apart from the rent, the state of the house was not good. There was sewage flowing everywhere, with mosquitoes breeding everywhere, and this was not good for our health.
"Also the interior was in a bad state and I was forced to make some renovations on security in order to secure my instruments," he said.
But the inimitable dancer explained that shifting from the Unit G Extension house forced him to trim the number of his band members staying with him to only two. He realised the new home could not accommodate a larger number.
"I am now staying with two members of my band with the majority of them now lodging somewhere else because of limited space.
"But the fact still remains that I should have been staying in my own house. That would be better than here, where you could have had a tough time reaching me since there would be enough security, with more than just one gate."
But he says there is no badblood between him and his erstwhile landlord. He says the landlady was "in good books" with his wife Maina. "We always talk to each other. Tinoonana, and our wives are in good books," says Chipanga.
Initially, word had gone around he had been evicted from the house over non-payment of rent. But he vehemently denied the rumour. "The truth is that I was never evicted. I moved out of my own choice because of the unfavourable conditions and environment that I told you about.
"If the truth be told, I didn't owe anyone anything to warrant eviction." But a visit to his former landlord's residence a few metres from where he used to stay, revealed Chipanga occasionally skipped rent. "I wouldn't say we evicted him as such," said Zwelibazi Dhlamini, the son of the landlord.
He spoke in the presence of his mother, who refused to be named. Chipanga reportedly offered to share the house with other tenants since he could not raise the full amount needed for rentals.
Added Zwelibazi: "He could even spend two months without paying rent." Ironically, Jonah Moyo's son, Shepherd, was also a lodger at Chipanga's new home before he decided to find another place to stay.
Meanwhile, Chipanga has admitted that all is not well for him in terms of live shows and the marketing of his latest album, Hero Shoko, that he claims was unlawfully banned.
"We are surviving by the grace of God. Although we are holding shows here and there, it is not what it is supposed to have been. "Our record (album) was banned from the airwaves, which deprived us of opportunities such as performing at the just-ended Zimbabwe's Finest Music Gala held at Gwanzura, which I think organisers based on the rate of shows that one held and also the performance of their albums on the market.
"So I felt that they saw that I could not be part of that event since I am now relying on my previous albums for survival and not my current album which has not reached the majority of people owing to the ban."
He said he made efforts to have the ban lifted after approaching some authorities at the national broadcaster to present his issue.
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this is nt accecptable mr chipanga I thougt yu own the chitungwiza hse any way may God bless you so tt yu will buy one where you feel u are reachable