“They Sold Our Music for Commission”: Inside ZIMURA’s Breakaway Board Press Conference

Breakaway ZIMURA board members accuse the organisation’s leadership of constitutional violations, self-dealing and exploitation of musicians, calling for audits, suspensions and urgent reform (image source)

The atmosphere was tense and charged when breakaway ZIMURA board members finally faced the media on Monday. This was no routine briefing. It was a public reckoning after a week of turmoil that has shaken Zimbabwe’s music industry to its core.

Seated before the cameras, Dereck Mpofu, flanked by fellow board members Gift Amuli and Joseph Garakara, spoke with the resolve of men who say they walked into a broken institution and refused to be complicit. “We came in hoping to reform,” Mpofu said flatly. “What we found was total constitutional collapse.”

What followed was a forensic dismantling of ZIMURA’s leadership, triggered by an official notice issued on January 12 that attempted to justify the sale of the organisation’s Avondale properties.

The “Article 41” Smokescreen

At the centre of the dispute is the sale of ZIMURA’s Avondale flats at 80 Mendel Road, a property many musicians regard as sacred ground. For decades, it symbolised collective ownership built through years of low royalties and high hope.

Last week, the entrenched administration defended the sale by invoking Article 41 of ZIMURA’s Articles of Association, claiming the flats were “dilapidated,” a “health hazard,” and that proceeds would fund a new commercial property. Mpofu dismissed that explanation as deliberate misdirection.

“They hide behind Article 41 to sell our heritage without consultation,” he said. “If the building was so dilapidated, where did years of maintenance money go?”

The answer, the breakaway board alleges, is self-dealing. They revealed that a sitting board member, Alexio Gwenzi, was employed by the estate agency that handled the transaction, meaning he stood to benefit professionally from a deal he voted to approve.

“That is not governance,” Mpofu said. “That is liquidation of heritage for commission.”

A Leadership Built on a Legal Lie

(image source)

The briefing took a darker turn when attention shifted to Polisile Ncube-Chimhini, referred to by the administration as Executive Director. Despite recent threats by ZIMURA to involve law enforcement over what it calls “defamatory claims,” the breakaway board stood by its allegations on record and with documentation.

They confirmed that Ncube-Chimhini was convicted of fraud in 2025 for submitting fraudulent company documents. More critically, they cited a High Court ruling (Case HH 438-25) which states that the position of “Executive Director” does not exist in ZIMURA’s Articles of Association.

“In plain language, ZIMURA is being run by a ghost,” Mpofu said. “Every contract, every transaction, every cent moved under that title is a legal nullity.”

How the Board Was Captured

The trio detailed what they described as a systematic campaign of board capture designed to silence dissent and protect the status quo.

They alleged that the most recent chairperson election was manipulated through allowing a paid legal advisor to vote, violating quorum requirements, conducting online voting contrary to the constitution, and outsourcing the election to a private firm without a valid resolution.

“This was not an election,” Mpofu said. “It was a scripted takeover.”

Salaries Over Songs

The sharpest reaction came when Mpofu outlined ZIMURA’s financial model. While some artists earn as little as US$5 per year, often paid years late, executives allegedly pay themselves based on projected revenue, taking a 30% administrative cut on money not yet collected.

If broadcasters default, staff still get paid. Artists absorb the loss.

“That’s why they refuse to leave,” Mpofu said. “The system feeds them first.”

He added that Stanbic Bank has refused mortgage terms to ZIMURA, citing these practices, contradicting claims that the organisation is financially sound enough to acquire new property.

The Human Cost

The briefing ended with the issue that matters most to musicians.

“We bury legends with groceries,” Mpofu said quietly. “After a lifetime of contribution, ZIMURA offers a coffin.”

The breakaway board is demanding an immediate financial freeze, a forensic audit covering two decades, suspension of Ncube-Chimhini, an Extraordinary General Meeting within 21 days, and the appointment of a judicial manager.

As the conference closed, one message was unmistakable: intimidation has failed.

“The era of shadows is over,” Mpofu said. “The music belongs to us.”