“Zvirikufamba Sei” comedian to take legal action

By Staff Reporter

Richard Matimba the popular comedian behind the “zvirikufamba sei” jokes, which went viral on social media, says he is taking legal action against companies and individuals who have been using his jokes without his consent. 

“I have noted with grave concern that there are individuals, corporate companies and fellow artistes who are using my trademarks without my permission. So I have engaged my lawyers on that issue,” Matimba is quoted as saying.

Matimba says he has registered his trademark jokes with the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs to protect his intellectual property.

Uncle Ritchie as he is affectionately known will be going after organisers of the Miss Zimbabwe pageant and power utility Zesa for breaching the Copyright Act.

“Zesa has been using advertorial with my jokes and it was quite appalling that the Miss Zimbabwe Trust used a voice over of ‘Mudhikoni Bhebe’ joke, which is again protected under the Copyright Act. Now it’s time to take action.”

Over the weekend the Miss Zimbabwe pageant opened with a performance of his “Mudhikoni Bhebhe” joke done by a member of the Apama dance group. This clearly did not go down well with Matimba.