The desperate Robert Mugabe, who was rejected by “his people” on
March 29 polls has altered his campaign strategy.
from our correspondent in Harare
The phrase is catch them young hence Zanu Pf has resorted to hip-hop lyrics in a bid to woo younger voters to vote for the 84-year-old veteran leader.
The campaign team, comprising radio and television personalities Tichafa
Matambanadzo, Makhosini Hlongwane and Hugo Ribatika, have flighted advertisement featuring the late American rap star Tupac Shakur.
no more liberation songs
Zanu PF, which has traditionally used liberation songs has placed a full-page colour advertisement that sampled the lyrics of Shakur who was killed in a drive-by shoot in Las Vegas 12 years go.
Zanu PF sampled Tupac’s early hit Keep ya head up from his album Strictly for my NIGGAZ in an attempt to encourage Zimbabweans to be resilient in the face of biting economic hardships characterised by a record inflation rate, high unemployment and acute food shortages.
It is a song which implores men to “be real to our women”. It also
encourages women to be strong in a patriarchal society. “I know it seems hard sometimes but remember one thing,” read, the advert. “Through every dark night, there’s a bright day after that. So no
matter how hard it gets, stick your chest out, keep ya head up…”
correcting mistakes and targetting the youth
Mugabe’s party says it had made a terrible mistake of leaving out the youths at the mercy of MDC they have decided to give them what they want– hip pop.
In the past all state stations where airing a number of “political songs” most of which where insulting political opponets. One of them, “Mr Government” by Man Soul Jah, celebrated the government’s land seizures and called for the decimation of perceived political
sellouts.
The song said: “We are living like squatters in the land of our heritage…
give me my spear so that I can kill the many sellouts in my forefathers’
country.”
The song preaches hate and violence,” MMPZ said. Another popular one was deriding former Britain Priem Minister Tony Blair with lyrics like ” the only blair that i know is a toilet…”
But will the new strategy work.
Ambrose Ncube aged 20 says he will not change his decsion and vote for Mugabe. “This is an attempt to appeal to us the urban youth. It sounds like it is from the liberation war. Music not change my mind to voite for MDC” He described the campaign as a “desperate last attempt by an expired regime”.
During the run-up to the March 29 harmonised elections Zanu PF campaigned using its trademark “revolutionary” campaign messages that portrayed Mugabe as a hero of the 1970s liberation war.
