Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi was honoured this year by Amnesty International for his activism through music. Tuku was honoured with a special award for using music to denounce gender-based violence at an event held at a local hotel in the capital. It was an emotional day for his widow and daughter who were in tears during the announcement.
The event, held as part of the commemorations of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, also saw community theatre groups honoured for campaigning against gender-based violence (GBV). The 16 Days of Activism against GBV is an annual international campaign that kicks off on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until 10 December, Human Rights Day.
In her citation, Amnesty International Zimbabwe’s Rose Muzerengi said Tuku was a man who stood for what was right who consistently produced music that spoke out for the rights of the marginalized and fought the fight for what was correct.
Rose Muzerengi went on to point out how Tuku spoke against colonialism in the 1970s (Zimbabwe and Ndipeiwo Zano). She also how in the 80s it was commonplace for men to hit women and in that time, Oliver released “Tozeza Baba”, a lyrically loaded attack on men who came home and beat up their wives.
She said fighting for women’s and children’s rights became a regular theme in Tuku’s music and in the 1990s, he took on the culture of disinheritance when he provided the soundtrack to the movie “Neria.”
"Oliver spread his message across genre, geography and gender, teaming up with Zim hip hop artists like Ex Q, Zimdancehall artistes like Winky D and joining forces with regional greats like Ladysmith Black Mambazo and African powerhouses like Eric Wainana and Habib Koite," she said.
Amnesty International is a global movement of more than 7 million people in over 150 countries and territories who campaign to end abuses of human rights.
Source: The Anchor