Popular musician Qonfuzed has launched a scathing Facebook attack on the Zimbabwe Music Awards (ZIMA), accusing the body of corruption.
Qonfuzed, who did not received any nominations at the recent ZIMA23 ceremony despite submitting his songs, alleged that the awards are rigged and that the winners are chosen based on bribes.
“We are so used to a corrupt and dictatorship system which says ‘ngatishandei nezviripo or tonyora everywhere you possibly can’ to the extent that if one publicly flags out an issue it becomes a problem and you get told ‘unotaurisa unongocomplainer….'” Qonfuzed wrote. “DO YOU THINK I DONT KNOW THAT THESE ISSUES ARE SOLVED BY BRIBES ?? DO YOU REALLY THINK I CANNOT ALSO BUY THE AWARDS ?”
Qonfuzed also questioned the criteria used to select winners of the ZIMA awards, pointing out that some of the artists who won awards did not have any major releases in 2022.
In a statement, ZIMA has since apologised to Qonfuzed for not including his submissions in the ZIMA23 awards.
ZIMA said that the error was due to a technical glitch and that Qonfuzed’s submissions would be considered for the next awards ceremony.
“The ZIMA executive unreservedly apologises to Qonfuzed, his management team and his fans,” ZIMA said. “We understand that this is a serious matter and we take it very seriously. We have taken steps to ensure that this does not happen again.”
