Advocate Mpofu Condemns Use Of Financial Muscle To Cancel Winky D's HICC Concert
Advocate Thabani Mpofu has called on the Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) to dissociate itself from an event sponsored by Kuda Tagwirei, which led to the cancellation of Winky D’s New Year’s Eve performance at the Harare International Conference Centre (HICC).
According to ZimLive, Tagwirei, through his Bridging Gaps Foundation, paid the Rainbow Tourism Group US$245,000 to use the HICC during the time Winky D had booked the venue.
The foundation reserved the venue on behalf of the SDA Church, of which Tagwirei is a devoted member.
Advocate Mpofu, also a member of the SDA Church but aligned with Nelson Chamisa rather than ZANU PF, criticized the move.
Earlier this month, Winky D’s legal counsel, Tsunga Law International, stated that the venue owners decided to prioritize another event on December 31, 2024, despite an established agreement with Winky D.
The law firm claimed that the venue had been secured gor Winky D’s show as early as May 2024, with all necessary arrangements in place for the show.
Posting on X this Friday, Advocate Mpofu condemned the use of financial power to act against the public interest. Below are Advocate Mpofu’s comments:
I’m compelled to share my genuine substantive concerns about the Winky D, Tagwireyi and HICC saga.
It appears that Tagwireyi, through his Bridging Gaps foundation, (which on the evidence has created more gaps than it has bridged), made a lucrative offer to HICC, essentially enticing them to abandon their long-standing partnership with Winky D.
The offer according to ZIMLIVE included booking a massive 200 rooms for five days, which translates to accommodating 200 couples (possibly threatening the city’s entire supply of Congo Dust) at the expense of more than 8000 poor Zimbabweans who were eagerly awaiting Winky D’s performance.
Winky D’s performances are as we all know, therapeutic as they are emancipating and are for that reason not just a musical journey but constitute much needed balm for the bruised and broken souls of those trampled upon.
This situation raises serious moral concerns. It highlights how the financially powerful can exert their influence to get what they want, even if it goes against the public interest.
Put differently, not only are they able to drive you to penury but they can also then use their muscle to rob you of your only source of solace. This sets a dire precedent and must drive fear into our broken hearts.
What then is to stop the financially powerful from buying off lawyers representing their opponents, bribing judges or adjudicators in public procurement or generally exploiting vulnerable individuals simply because they can and because it makes economic sense for the person(s) receiving the money to take it?
Indeed, what is to stop them from taking your wife simply because they are able to offer more? This is more sinister than the superficial commentary on these streets makes out.This disregard for principles is alarming. In a civilized society, right must triumph over might, and we must respect the soft territory of others even if they are financially weaker than us. This does not require written rules or concluded contracts. It is a matter of common decency.
Winky D has an obligation to satisfy the expectations of his fans. For an entire year, the fans have been eagerly anticipating this annual celebration and solace, only to be deprived of it because someone with greater economic power has swooped in.
This is unacceptable and has no place in a fair and just society. This is why it is wrong. This is why all civilized sentiment must rage against it. This is why I condemn it without equivocation.
And a religious organization must never get entangled in this kind of nonsense. Wapusa Wapusa was able to avoid it for the entire duration of its phantom existence!
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