Thomas Mapfumo blasts Mnangagwa govt

Mukanya Thomas Mapfumo on Tuesday took a dig at the change of guard at Munhumutapa Building, saying the ouster of former president Robert Mugabe and his replacement with President Emmerson Mnangagwa only ushered in “cosmetic changes”.

In an interview on Tuesday, the musician was cautiously optimistic about the country’s future, saying its prospects were doomed without the youths playing a leading role in its affairs.

“This is not the change that people are looking for,” he said of the new dispensation that swept to power following a soft-coup by the military, which facilitated Mnangagwa’s dramatic ascendancy to power.

“The people want a good leader — a man who is not a thief, a man who does not steal from the people, a man of the people, a man who will stand for the people, a man who will stand for the poor,” thundered the outspoken musician.

Mapfumo, 72, said this was time for the youths to rise.

He said it was not possible for the current crop of politicians, who are in the twilight of their careers, to clean the mess they created in nearly four decades.

“These guys are now old and I urge you youngsters to rise and stand up. This is your future, this is your country and do not let them destroy it because then you will not have any country,” he said.