General Kanene weeps with Malawians
Zambian musician General Kanene is no stranger to Malawians. He has performed in the country many times as well as featured a number of Malawian artists in his songs.
As Malawi grapples with the effects of Tropical Cyclone Freddy, the ‘Tupac wa mu Zambia’ on Wednesday released a song titled Alira Malawi.
On his Facebook page, the artist introduced the song which features artist PST by writing: “Maliro nikulilana.[You mourn with the bereaved]”
In the song, General Kanene uses his usual artistic signature deployed in familiar Chinyanja language. The composition itself uplifts the notion of unity as he says he sees Zambia and Malawi as one.
He refers to President Lazarus Chakwera as a father and he offers his sympathy to children who have been orphaned and women who have been widowed because of the tragedy.
The song also brings out a part of him that has not been evident before; his belief in God.
He wonders why Malawi, a God-fearing nation, endowed with well-known preachers such as Prophet Shepherd Bushiri, was left at the mercy of such destruction which saw people die like animals reminiscent of the times of Noah.
“Zimene zinachitika mu mzinda wa Malawi sizokondweretsa ayi. Anthu kufa ngati vinyama. Monga ndi nthawi ya Noah sure. Ambuye mwawalekera bwanji ana wanu sure. Munanena kuti simudzakawononganso ana anu futi na madzi”…goes part of the song.
In his lamentation, General Kanene pleads that if Malawians had done something wrong, it was better to punish them in a different way and not the way the cyclone dealt with them.
For what the Zambian artist has always been known for, it is sobering to see how he slid in a sombre mood to drop a moving rendition with a message which touches on the emotions of the people.
In an interview from Lusaka yesterday, PST said he shared in the suffering that Malawians went through during the time of the disaster.
“We were following everything through the Internet. It was really hard seeing all that. As artists, we perform in Malawi regularly and we have a deep connection with the people. They are our brothers and sisters. I personally had to be checking on my friends from there to see if they are okay,” he said.
Upon releasing the song, his fellow Zambians applauded Kanene for his gesture with most of them identifying with Malawians as their brothers and sisters.
Don Kingston wrote: “God works my guy. We need to push more and more because Malawi is more like our city in Lusaka. These people are good and we need to treat them like brothers and sisters. Respect to you ‘AMalawi’. God is with you. Let us unite and leave every pain in God’s hands.”
Wisdom Msangu said: “Well done General Kanene. There is so much creativity in your music. Let us comfort our lovely neighbour during this difficult time.”
The Department of Disaster Management Affairs said 676 people have died and 537 are still missing due to the cyclone.
