None
ID
Why ‘Mugove’ by Leonard Zhakata is the greatest Zimbabwean song ever written
['Gabriel Manyati', 'Gabriel Manyati Is A Zimbabwean Journalist', 'Analyst Delivering Incisive Commentary On Politics', 'Human Interest Stories', 'Current Affairs.']
Nehanda Radio
It was not an attempt to diminish Leonard Dembo’s immortal classic, but rather to ask whether Zimbabwean music possesses an even greater artistic achievement.
If there is a song that stands at the summit of Zimbabwean popular music, it is Leonard Karikoga Zhakata’s Mugove.
Mugove literally means one’s rightful share, yet Zhakata stretches the idea far beyond inheritance or material wealth.
Few Zimbabwean songs have captured the psychology of exclusion as completely as Mugove.
Its opening verses remain among the most devastating observations ever written in Zimbabwean music.