Deputy Minister warns Winky D against “disrespecting” govt structures

Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Deputy Minister, Tinoda Machakaire has warned prominent Zimbabwean Dancehall musician Winky D, real name Wallace Chirumiko, against “disrespecting government structures and the people of Zimbabwe” through his music.

This comes after Winky D faced a lot of criticism from Zanu-PF loyalists in the past few days following the release of his album, Eureka, on which several artists featured.

Zanu-PF pressure group Economic Empowerment Group (EEG) president Mike Chimombe and music producer and promoter DJ Fantan among others criticised his latest album for being too political and having a potential to cause instability.

In a statement this week, Machakaire warned Winky D against attacking the Zanu-PF government through his music.

The Zanu-PF youth league chairman further urged government leaders not to attack the artist but to sit him down and teach him.

“I would want to say, it is very important to respect government structures, in fact the people of Zimbabwe. It is not a good idea to be seen fighting the government or talking about the government,” he said.

“But on the same note, as leaders, if we realise that we have some artists with that kind of behavior, there is no need for us to fight to chase them.

“There are many ways of engaging them, sitting them down and teaching and guiding them to address their issues in a formal or smarter way.

“That issue is still in the public domain, it’s not in our possession. But if he comes to us and says, ‘this is the issue that I’m facing’, we can sit down and find means. He is a Zimbabwean, he must be protected.

“At the same time he must also be responsible. He must not produce something that will cause instability in this country. We can sit down with him. There is no need for us to be fighting. We’re Zimbabweans. We are the honors of this land,” Machakaire added