Mumas are funnier than local soapie
Looking at the glass as half-full rather than half-empty, I find more things to talk about the awards still.
Firstly I find the awards funnier than a certain local soapie. I will tell you what’s funny about them.
Last year the best reggae category was locked in a tie between Black Missionaries and Sally Nyundo. This year it has been proven beyond reasonable doubt (according to Muma organisers) that the one that has entertained Malawians in the reggae genre is Sally Nyundo. I don’t know yet the song which earned him the accolade. Is it Chule Chule Iwe, Ras Amadya Nzimbe or Kukuchedwa Kucha? Losing an accolade in an award where your wife was one of the organisers would be worse than Bullets losing to Fomboni at Chichiri.
The other funny thing I find about the awards is the level of unpredictability that surpasses Nigerian movie plots where bad guys get punished and good triumphs. In these awards anything was possible. Dan Kalima won an accolade from I don’t know where. The seven judges agreed that he is the guy that has been more entertaining to Malawians in terms of R&B music, especially with his song—his song ummm. Nyimbo yake yotchuka ndi chani paja?
The climax of the event was in the categorisation of the awards. The names of the awards were just as fancy as the names of the consulting companies that organised the awards themselves. However, instead of being more specific on the genres, the categories just confused not only the voting masses, but also the winners.
The hardship of organizing an event like an award ceremony lies in the fact that the industry is small that when one wants to list five jazz artists he will start Wambali and scratch his head before the second name is mentioned—or not. That is how small the industry is.
The organisers should next time take that into consideration.
This time the slapstick did not come from bizarre wardrobe malfunctions at the ceremony as the artists themselves dressed at least like artists should.
Lastly it is appropriate to say it was an effort worth making and we are hoping next time they do better.
