Veteran music producer Mono Mkundu alleged of  “rigging” Chibuku Road to Fame competitions

At least 10  upcoming live bands participated in this year’s Delta Beverages Chibuku Road to Fame live music competitions in Harare over the weekend that were won by a Midlands-based 911 band.

Mashonaland Central’s ambassadors in the competition High Five Band from Chiwaridzo in Bindura came out second and US$2 000 richer but they were not happy.

The group alleges 911 is sponsored by veteran musician and producer Mono Mkundu of Monolio Records who was one of the adjudicators during the competition.

In an interview with Bindura Eye, Lovemore Gama representing High Five said they think nepotism and favoritism applied leading to the Midlands representatives winning.

He said they have since approached the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe which they expect will dig deeper into the allegations.

“You will find out that Mono has always been with the band before the competitions. They even entertained guests during one of his birthday celebrations.

“If you are again going to visit his or their YouTube Channel, you will always see that they are a company, hence we are cross and we want an investigation,” Gama said.

Mono however said;

“It is common for competitors who lose to criticise judges. Because everyone believes they deserve to win, this occurs at all music competitions.

It’s fascinating to learn about the accusations that I am  911’s sponsor. Never in my life have I sponsored a band; I wish I had that type of money.   I’m merely a music producer, and everyone in the music business is aware that this is currently one of the least lucrative parts of the music business in Zimbabwe.

As a result, since January of this year, more than eight well-known music producers have departed for the diaspora to do general labour, so where would I get the money?

“Because there were five other judges, the accusations that I contributed to the outcome are absurd  I wish I had such power to unilaterally affect the outcome of such a major contest.”

Mono added;

“If the claims are founded on the fact that I get along with some 911 band members, most of the bands may have won.”

He said it’s very rare to find a band in Zimbabwe where he does not get along with two to three or all members of the bands, that includes almost all the bands that took part in that competition.

He went further to say, “Last but not least, I’d like to point out that the 911 band’s performance at the event stood out far and above that of every other band that day. “Actually, as judges, we even questioned National Arts Council representatives as to why such a wide discrepancy existed. The bulk of the bands were inadequately prepared for such a  competition.