Thomas Mapfumo, 'Lion Of Zimbabwe,' Returns From Exile With Triumphant Homecoming
Mapfumo performed a homecoming show in the country last month, after spending over a decade-and-a-half in self-imposed exile.
After a 14-year absence, Thomas Mapfumo and The Blacks Unlimited rocked until dawn at Glamis Arena, an open-air stadium packed with some 20,000 fans of three generations. Mapfumo — Mukanya to his fans, a reference to his totem, the baboon — moved his family out of the country in 2000, to escape turmoil and harassment under the regime of Robert Mugabe. Mugabe and members of his ZANU-PF party were frequent targets in Mapfumo's barbed songs and public statements. But since Mugabe's military-enabled ouster last November, efforts have been underway to get Mapfumo back to the country and in front of the audience that loves him most.
In Harare, Zimbabwe, on Saturday, April 28, it happened.
