Zanzibar will resonate to Mutoko’s gospel beat

DUBAI-based gospel musician John “Mr Fantastic” Mutoko could be among the few Zimbabwean artists to tour East Africa when he stages shows in Tanzania and Uganda this week.

Mutoko is expected to be in Tanzania on Wednesday ahead of gigs in Zanzibar and Dodoma.

The Zanzibar stop-over will see the musician performing at Mnazi Mmoja Sports Centre on Friday while on Saturday he goes to Old Fort. The only show in Dodoma is slated for Dodoma Stadium on Sunday.

The musician was upbeat about his maiden show in East Africa saying he would work with popular gospel musicians from both countries.

“The exciting thing about my shows in Tanzania is that I will perform alongside Wanguchi Mbogo who is very popular in that country.

“I feel so much honoured to be on stage with such a talented and respected gospel musician,” said Mutoko.

“It is my first time to perform in that country but I have been following Mbogo’s music for sometime and I know we will be able to stitch our performances in an exciting way.

“We have planned to do a duet and I will use the tour as groundwork to that arrangement.

“It is the beginning of a good partnership and I hope we will be able to stage shows together in Zimbabwe.”

In Uganda Mutoko is expected to join gospel musicians from that country that include Kampala-based choir, The Living Sound Gospel Singers, which is led by the popular Steven Ogwang.

The group is well known for its successful international tours that have seen it performing in Europe and the United States over the past two decades.

The Uganda shows are set for Entebbe and Mbarara on July 10 and 11 respectively.
Mutoko said he would use the tour to shoot some videos for his songs since he is putting together a video album titled The Voice of Silence.

“I have been shooting the videos in different parts of the world for the past four months.

“Although the audio album has eight songs, the video album will have 12 including two new releases.

“I will also pick songs from my previous albums but one of the new songs is titled Ngochani Mwana Waani.

“This song takes a swipe at gays. I am surprised that some people who call themselves Christians are openly supporting gays.

“In this song, I make a straight point that it is a sin before God because from the beginning normal marriages and love relationships have been between opposite sexes. I strongly condemn gays.”

Speaking about his annual tours to Zimbabwe, Mutoko said he might not perform back home in the near future claiming that his last shows had been disrupted in unclear circumstances.

“Something unusual happened when I was in Zimbabwe. Some unidentified people came to one of my shows and confronted me.

“They demanded explanations to (the meaning of) some of my songs that include Pasi Idandaro and Mweya Wangu Chizorora.

“The songs attack social ills but I do not target anyone. I feel that anything that corrupts the society should be exposed.

“I am a Christian musician and not a politician. But you know, whenever dry bones are mentioned old people feel uneasy.”

Mutoko says he cut short his last tour because he feared for his life since he was not sure about the motive of the people who disrupted his show.

UZINDUZI TAWI LA CCM HELSINKI. MABADILIKO YA UKUMBI NA TAREHE

KUTOKANA NA SABABU NJE YA UWEZO WETU TUMERUDISHA NYUMA SIKU MOJA YAANI ALHAMISI BADALA YA IJUMAA AMBAYO NI SIKUKUU MUHIMU HAPA FINLAND (MID-SUMMER-JUHANNUS) KUTAKUWA NA SHIDA YA USAFIRI. PIA KUTOKANA NA KUPOKEA EMAILS NYINGI ZA WASHIRIKI KAMATI YA MAANDALIZI IMECHUKUA UKUMBI MKUBWA NA WA KISASA PALEPALE KATIKATI YA JIJI LA HELSINKI-RAVINTOLA KAISANIEMI (THE HOME OF AFRICAN NIGHT) KAISANIEMENTIE 6.


TAREHE: ALHAMISI 24.6.2010
MUDA: 18.00pm -23.30pm
BAADA YA MKUTANO: KUTAKUWA NA BURUDANI YA NYIMBO ZA KINYUMBANI TU NA DJ. ALTUNEZ.
KWA WALE WANAOJISIKIA KUJA KUFAHAMIANA NA WATANZANIA WENZAO, TUTAKUWA NA MAZUNGUMZO YA PAMOJA NA BAR KUWA WAZI KWAAJILI YA VINYWAJI BAADA YA MKUTANO 21:00.


NB: WANAWAKAMATI WANAFANYA MAWASILIANO NA BALOZI WETU WA SWEDEN AU MWAKILISHI WAKE ILI AWEZE KUWA MGENI RASMI KWAAJILI YA UFUNGUZI.

TANGAZO: Uzinduzi wa Tawi la CCM Helsinki - Finland

Tunayo furaha kubwa kukukaribisha katika mkutano wa kwanza wa tawi la Chama Cha Mapinduzi(C.C.M) nchini Finland.

Dhumuni la mkutano wetu huu wa awali ni kufahamiana katika chama kama wanachama hai wa C.C.M. vilevile kupitia vipengele hivi viwili muhimu.

A) Ufunguzi rasmi wa tawi C.C.M Finland na uandikishaji wa wanachama wapya wa C.C.M.

B) Uchaguzi wa kwanza rasmi wa viongozi (wawikilishi) wa tawi la Chama Cha Mapinduzi Finland.

Uzinduzi Wa Tawi La CCM Helsinki Finland utafanyika siku ya Ijumaa, tarehe: 25-08-2010

ZIFF: Gang drama could fund dream trip for Hornsey arts group

A VIBRANT Hornsey arts club will perform their own play tonight to raise funds to send young people on a volunteering trip to Tanzania.

Kori Arts hopes to take 16 of its young artists to Tanzania on June 27 to work with orphans as part of a special film festival project, but are £5,000 short of their goal.

Using a combination of poetry and theatre, Gang Initiation Clinic tells the story of young men living on housing estates, who turn to gangs for belonging and acceptance but end up destroying their lives.

Kori said it hopes to raise as much as possible from the performance.

Odiri Ighamre, Kori Arts managing director, said: "They are an incredible, inspiring group of young people who are all determined to go. This is a real community effort and we will keep fundraising until the last second."

If successful, the young people will spend a month in the coastal African country, using a variety of art forms to empower the orphans to do their own live performance at Zanzibar International Film Festival.

They will also be thrown out of their comfort zones, as Swahili is the main spoken language.

The trip's aim is to develop a pack for other young people to run similar trips, as well as the benefits the experience will bring for themselves.

Kori also plan to document their adventure by filming and writing.

Group member Anthony Brown, 17, said: "I can't wait to go, I feel so stressed here. I want a new experience teaching children, and them teaching me."

He added: "I want to become a better man. When I come back I can use this experience to be a better person."

Lydia Newman, 22, dramatist and youth worker, was part of the first group of young people to visit Tanzania in 2008.

She said: "I'm really excited to go and work with young people from a different environment. I’m frustrated with the young people over here.

"It’s completely different and it will refresh my energy. It’s going to be amazing."

Even though she has been before, she is confident she will not have the same experience as last time.

Lydia said: "It will give me a greater appreciation for life. The children there are thirsty and are happy to learn.

"I had tears in my eyes when I heard that they were still playing out drama games and that they still remembered them. It just shows that we need to keep inputting."

After the trip the young people will share what they have learnt with their schools, colleges, universities and the wider community.

"This trip will sharpen their leadership skills and will culturally enrich them by learning the politics and history behind Africa," said Ms Ighamre.

To support the young people of Kori Arts, Gang Initiation Clinic will be performed tonight at Moors Cafe, in Crouch End, at 7.30pm.

Tickets cost £10.

For more information, contact Odiri Ighamre on 020 8889 2863.


Source:Haringey Independent