Marching to the Beat of Reform: ZIMURA Faces Artist Showdown on Thursday
- Southerton Business Times
- 6 minutes ago
- 2 min read
By Staff Reporter | Southerton Business Times
HARARE — Zimbabwe’s music industry is tuning up for a very different kind of performance this week. Instead of guitars and microphones, musicians are preparing placards and petitions as they plan a peaceful demonstration demanding accountability at the Zimbabwe Music Rights Association (ZIMURA).
The march, scheduled for Thursday, will begin at Belgravia Shopping Centre and proceed to the ZIMURA offices. Organisers have branded it the “March for Accountability”, saying it is driven by long-standing frustration over governance, transparency, and royalties.
Why Are Musicians Marching?
At the centre of the protest are concerns raised by a group of musicians and former board members who say ZIMURA has drifted away from its core mandate, collecting and fairly distributing royalties to artists.
Leading the call are Derek Mpofu, Gift Amuli, and Joseph Garakara, who dispute the legitimacy of a recent ZIMURA board restructuring. They argue that the process violated the association’s constitution and have challenged the changes through public statements and legal channels.
They are joined by Philip Chipfumbu, whose removal from the board has also been questioned, and fellow musicians, including Fred Finto, who have used social media platforms to mobilise artists and explain the issues in plain language.
Industry Groups Join In
In a rare moment of unity, the Zimbabwe Union of Musicians (ZIMU), led by Edith WeUtonga, has publicly supported the demonstration. ZIMU says its members are tired of what they describe as poor communication, unclear leadership structures, and royalty payments that do not reflect the money reportedly collected on behalf of artists.
“We cannot continue to accept situations where artists receive payouts that do not match the value of their work,” WeUtonga has said in previous public engagements.
Key Issues Being Raised
Musicians say their demands are simple and practical:
Leadership clarity: Questions remain around the appointment and authority of ZIMURA’s executive leadership, matters that have been raised in court and public forums.
Property transactions: Artists want transparency regarding the disposal of ZIMURA-owned properties, including flats in Avondale.
Royalties: Many musicians say they receive payouts as low as single-digit dollar amounts, despite reports of hundreds of thousands of dollars being collected annually.
For artists, the issue is not just money, it is trust.
A Turning Point for the Industry?
ZIMURA plays a critical role in Zimbabwe’s creative economy, especially as the country pushes digital monetisation under National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2). Without a trusted collecting society, artists risk being locked out of meaningful earnings both locally and internationally. “This is not about fighting,” said one artist involved in the mobilisation. “It’s about fixing the system so that musicians can survive.”
As the march approaches, all eyes will be on whether dialogue follows the demonstration or whether the standoff deepens.
Southerton Business Times will cover developments as they unfold.
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