By MKHOKHELI ZIBENGWA
Tuku Music, the music production and promotion company founded by the late great artist Oliver Mtukudzi, has launched a new annual arts festival in his honour.
The festival dubbed "Oliver Mtukudzi International Festival of the Arts (OMIFA)" is slated for September 21 to 22 at Pakare Paye Arts Centre in Harare.
Oliver Mtukudzi was a singer-songwriter, actor, screenwriter, film director, and entrepreneur. He was commonly referred to as "Tuku" (short for Mtukudzi). He was the leader of The Black Spirits and one of Zimbabwe's most accomplished artists, having published over 60 albums. His repertoire comprised primarily of Afro-Jazz songs.
The late national hero and Grammy award nominee passed away on January 23, 2019 at Avenues Clinic in Harare.
In a statement seen by this publication, Mtukudzi's daughter and OMIFA Director Samantha Mtukudzi said:
"The festival aims to honor the life and work of the legendary musician and national hero affectionately known to his millions of fans as Tuku."
"The inaugural edition of the festival will run under the theme ‘Dairai, Sabelani, Answer!’ which is a call to celebrate the late Oliver Dairai Mtukudzi’s illustrious achievements," she said
Samantha added that they will soon be putting out a call for content and they have a panel to select the best from the submissions.
