Nominate and Vote or Shut-up

In the early 2000 Malawi hired a Dane by the name Kim Splidsboel to be coach of the soccer national team, the Flames. If my memory serves me right, he is the man who brought up the term ‘Monday Coaches’ in our local parlance.

The thing is, there is a tendency for people to wait for a football team to play over the weekend and come Monday we start talking of how best the coach would have done to come up with either a winning team or a winning formula.

The same would be said of the Second Annual Music Malawi (MUMA) Awards where I have now seen many ‘Monday musical experts’ throwing and tossing about all sorts of accusations to the organisers and the award winners alike.

To start with the organisers did not bring us the names of the nominees if we go by the communications that have been going on as regards the awards.

From the word go, MediaCorp Limited, Tocadero Consulting as well as the Musicians Union of Malawi who were the organizers of the awards invited interested individuals to participate in the nomination of the best artists/groups/songs for the edition of the awards.

The organizers also involved media houses both print and electronic, selected clubs, music outlets and media practitioners to nominate the best act for the 2013/2014 season in each of the 13 categories.

Each participant was invited to select a maximum of ten acts in each category and thereafter a panel of judges was set up to scrutinize the given lists to come up with five in each category.

These five were then put up to a public voting. Just to jog up your memory:

In category 12 of the Best Female Artist - there were Ethel Kamwendo, Stella Mwanza, Aycee James, Princess Chitsulo, Favoured Martha

Category 11 of the Best Male Artist had Skeffa Chimoto, Lawi, Lulu, Dan Lu, and Katelele Ching'oma. Category 10 of the Best Acoustic/Jazz Artist had Lawi, Agorosso, Mawanga and Amalavi Movement and Alinafe Jimu.

Category 09 of the Best Hip-Hop/Rap Artist had Gwamba, K2B Block, Dominant 1, Tay Grin, Physics; Category 08 of the Best Reggae Artist had Truemale, Black Missionaries, Anthony Makondetsa, Sally Nyundo and Soul Raiders. Category 07 of the Best R n B Artist had Bucci, Sonye, Theo Thomson, Dan Kalima, Rhythm and Beyond, while Category 06 of the Best Gospel Artist (Female) the names up for the top spot were that of  Princess Chitsulo, Favoured Martha, Gloria Manong'a. Ethel Banda, Mada Ngoleka and on the opposite  Category 05 of the Best Gospel Artist (Male) had King James Phiri, Lloyd Phiri, Thoko Katimba, Evance Meleka, Allan Chirwa.

Lucius Banda, Gwamba, Skeffa Chimoto, Piksy, Dan Lu were put in Category 04 of the best Contemporary Afro Pop artist while in Category 03- Best of the best DanceHall Artist had Blasto, Black Jack, NesNes, King Chambiecco and Nyasa Queens lined up for the top accolade.

Agorosso, Katelele Ching'oma, Edgar  and Davis, Gides Chalamanda, Moses Makawa were in Category 02 of the Best Neo-Traditional Artist while in Category 01 of the Best New Artist had Adrian Kwelepeta, Flo-Dee, Bingo Lingo, Sangie, Mada Ngoleka.

The starting point was the nomination: if you did not want any of those that won why did you not nominate them in the first place? Some of you are of the view that others did not deserve the top spot. I share with you such sentiments.

My pick for example is Category 07 of the Best R n B Artist which had Bucci, Sonye, Theo Thomson, Dan Kalima, Rhythm and Beyond. The award was scooped by Kalima but believe you me, I have never heard of the guy before the award.

This however does not give me any right to scorn the whole process as a charade that mocked the music industry in the country. I would have settled for Theo Thomson in this category but because I did not vote for him, there was no way he would have made it. Let’s say I indeed voted for Theo, and ten voted for another, obviously he would have won.

Others claim that the nominees bought enough airtime and voted for themselves numerous times and to them this was cheating. Surely this is what we call creativity at its best especially when the rules are silent.  

Otherwise take part before you start showing about the accusing finger, in short, nominate and vote but if you don’t , then just shut up!

Muma Awards scores highly on Sauka

Disregard all the challenges that the organisers of the annual Music Malawi (Muma) Awards have encountered to put up the event for the second year running.

The gesture to decorate late Mr. Michael Fredrick Paul Sauka with the Life Time Achiever Award for composing Malawi’s National Anthem dims all such challenges.

MediaCorp Limited and Trocadero Consulting in partnership with Musicians Union of Malawi (Mum) say they have unveiled Sauka as the Life Time Achiever for this edition going by the theme ‘Celebrating Malawi Music at 50.’

I happen to have been there on July 6, 2011 when late President Bingu wa Mutharika decorated eight musicians during the Independence Anniversary Celebrations at the Mzuzu Stadium.

Sauka was given the honour bestowed on those called Principal Achievers. At the time then I thought this honour had come too late considering that even on the day that Mutharika was sworn in, it was this Sauka-composed-national anthem that was performed several times.

Since on the day others had given top accolades I also raised a debate on whether or not Sauka deserved a Principal Achiever honour that he was given or needed a Grand Achiever accolade.

Born 1934, in his life time Sauka showed a unique talent both as a composer and pianist as he played music which became a big part of his life as it helped him emerge as one of the greatest musicians in the early 1960’s.

His musical exploits include composing the Malawi National Anthem, Mulungu Dalitsani Malawi Oh God Bless Malawi, which was chosen through a stiff and highly competitive process involving Malawian and non-Malawian composers.

He also pioneered the formation of the then renowned Blantyre City Recreation Fine and Performing arts group besides composing numerous pieces for the MBC Band and Limbe Cathedral Choir.
Sauka also used the performing arts group, to undertake development and health outreach mobilization programmes. He is also honoured for his ability to balance singing and teaching artists in music literacy and performance, thereby advancing his knowledge of music to the next generation.

The other reason I think Muma awards organisers have scored highly is that in April 2006 I was part of a Constitutional Review conference that was also attended by the current president as a consultant.

Participants and contributors to the Constitutional Review Conference proposed that some areas in the country’s National Anthem be changed in order to be consistent with the current political, economic and social scenario. Apparently none  has taken heed to such calls, speaking volumes of how highly regarded this composition is.

I remember that this matter, which came to the attention of the conference during the presentation by Rafiq Hajat of the Institute for Policy Interaction (IPI) received support from Kamuzu Chibambo, a lawyer who is also People’s Transformation Party (PETRA).

Chibambo protested that Malawians have been singing about hunger, disease and envy for 40 years and proposed that these words be removed or replaced from the National Anthem.“

I remember that this was his argument: “What I know is usually what I affirm and what I affirm controls me therefore we must not let hunger, disease and envy control us. We need to address this issue because we must move on.”

Hajat who was presenting a paper entitled “A Constitutional Fortress: Mirage or Miraculously Possible?” also started by saying that some words in the National Anthem like where it talked of leaders must be replaced  with people.


The conference could perhaps consider amending our National Anthem to say, “”Bless our people - each and every one” instead of “Bless our Leaders”

To the applause of the participants Hajat also argued that once a person has become a leader then it means he has already been blessed and therefore if the conference wanted to maintain the leader in the National Anthem then it must be “Guide our leader and not Bless”.

If the submissions on the changing of the National Anthem were to take effect, it would have been the first time that it was to change since the adoption of the anthem in 1964.

Sauka died on August 15, 1990 a poor man, because he did not get any royalties from the National Anthem prompting his relatives to press on Government to assist his widow, which it never did.

The organisers say going by the theme of the awards “Celebrating Malawi Music at 50” which is in tandem with Malawi’s 50 years of independence, a selected panel of Judges have decided to give this converted award of Life Time Achiever to Michael- Fredrick Paul Sauka, the composer of the country’s National Anthem, which has been Malawi’s heart and soul for the last 50 years.

I doff my hat for the judges that include broadcaster Maria Chidzanja Nkhoma, Journalist Penelope Paliani Kamanga, ethno-musician Waliko Makhala, Music Crossroads Country Director Mathews Mfune, DJs Kenny Klips, broadcaster Jean Chalungama and DJ Maya who scrutinised the nominations and given a nod to Sauka as the Life Time Achiever.

Where are the Music Malawi Awards?

In January 2014, the Musicians Union of Malawi (MUM) inaugurated what it called the Music Association of Malawi Music Awards (MAMMA); the awards have since changed and rebranded to Annual Music Malawi (MUMA) Awards to reflect the overall mission and vision of the Awards.

By August 2014 organisers of the awards, the MediaCorp Limited and Trocadero Consulting who were doing so in partnership with MUM had already started calling for nominations of the best artists/groups/songs for this Edition of the awards to be presented in the Month of January 2015.

The way I read my calendar, it looks like today is January 24^th. I am sure if I have not heard of the date the presentation is going to take place, it is because the organizers have not announced it yet.  

While this can be changed as per the dictates of the circumstances I cannot help it but to consider the fact that it was rebranded and with it came a new format in the selection, nomination and voting of the best act.

One other act done for this year’s awards was the involvement of media houses that’s both print and electronic, selected clubs, music outlets and media practitioners to nominate the best act for the 2013/2014 season in each of the 13 categories.

Each participant was invited to select a maximum of ten acts in each category and thereafter a panel of judges will scrutinize the given lists to come up with 5 (five) in each category. These 5 (five) will then be put to a public voting.

The initial arrangement was that at least by Wednesday October 15, 2014 nominations would have been received.

Those that delayed to submit their completed nomination forms, where given an extension to do so by Wednesday December 10, 2014 meaning by now everything is set and the winners are now in the bag just waiting to be unveiled.

Soon after the inaugural awards everyone who matters tried to give the awards its Good, Bad and Ugly side.

I had my own misgivings as well and fought the temptation to point out at some glaring anomalies including failure to create categories with nominees that were mismatching.

Last awards were scandalous because even the MUM Chairperson Rev. Chimwemwe Mhango also got himself an award and so was the then Deputy Chairperson of MAM Women Desk Favoured Martha.

The demand I made last year was for the two to surrender back the awards because they did not deserve them, which was never the case.

Now this time round I am looking forward to an improved organisation in the awards giving process having learnt many lessons with the last year’s charade.

I expect the nominees to be in their deserving categories and please no executive member of MUM should walk away with any award again this time round. It is immoral to do so therefore take heed.

With all the time the organisers had in the world since August last year I should have been seeing posters, stickers, flyers and what have you informing us of the day the event is going to take place.

The inaugural event took place in January and it would have been befitting had the same also taken place this same month as the organisers told us last year.

Is it still on or?