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Cde Chinx

Jonathan Mbiriyamveka and Sophia Chese—
Cde Dick Chingaira is up for an enthralling surprise at this year’s edition of the Zimbabwe Music Awards scheduled for this Friday at the Harare International Conference Centre. The singer, songwriter, composer and most importantly, an ex-combatant affectionately known as Cde Chinx, will be aptly honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award, which has been dubbed the Chairman’s Award or “Cheukashure Award”.

“It is not ZIMA but the people of Zimbabwe who are going to honour him. What I can tell you right now is that Cde Chinx’s life will never be the same again,” Joseph Nyadzayo, the ZIMA chairman said.

Nyadzayo said Cde Chinx was one of the Zimbabwean musicians who played a pivotal role in mobilising national consciousness hence the need to honour him.
“Tracking the history, Cde Chinx has his nation at heart. Through his music he mobilises people to support the country.

“He had his prowess not in holding the gun but in singing which is an important weapon. He kept the torch burning up to the Third Chimurenga, land reform programme where many benefited but he is the one who sang the war cry.

“He comes a long way and we want to honour him because of this. He sings for the common good and not for commercial enterprise. The role his music played no musician past, present and future will beat him because we are not going to have a second liberation,” he said.

The special accolade will be given to Cde Chinx for his outstanding contribution to the music industry.
Definitely, Cde Chinx is a man who needs no introduction to the music industry and his accomplishments cannot be challenged.

He is a man whose history is intertwined with the history of Zimbabwe, pre and post-independence.
There is no doubt the spotlight will be on Cde Chinx, a man who has travelled far and wide dating back to his days in the liberation struggle where he used music to cheer on the guerillas, mobilise support from the masses back home and to keep the morale high in the camp when the chips were down.

Cde Chinx whose music appeals to a crossover audience was born on September 26, 1955 in a family of nine. He started music at the tender age of nine at Sunday schools.
In 1975, Cde Chinx decided to join other comrades in Mozambique and he is on record saying “War is not a dinner party”.

This was in apparent reference to the war of the liberation where the comrades sacrificed their life and limb.
Given the hardships that came with the war such as disease, hunger and death, music was the only way to ease the pain.

In such difficult times, there was need to boost the morale of the people and the comrades were the “wheels” that kept the war going while music was the “lubricant”.
Those who were in their teens will remember songs like “Maruza Imi”, “Sendekera Mukoma”, “Zimbabwe Ndeyedu” and the popular kongonya dance during the night vigils also known as pungwes.

It was during that time when Cde Chinx would compose a number of songs to fit different situations since music played an important role in keeping the fighting spirit burning in the hearts of the freedom fighters.

Anxiety is high among artistes as they wait to find out who will walk away with the coveted Zima accolades in various categories at the red carpet affair.
For those that did not make it on the nominees list all hope is not lost. There is still hope as the public will vote for Song of the Year via Whatsapp platform.