reprinted with additions from the Newsday

 

Gospel musician and keyboard wizard Munyaradzi Munodawafa is embroiled in a wrangle with Reverend Watson Furayi — coodinator of Zimbabwe Pastors Fellowship — over an alleged outstanding performance fee.

 

Munodawafa performed at a peace prayer meeting organised by Furayi and his counterparts in Masvingo recently and was promised USD500 before the performance. However, Furayi later indicated he would pay after the performance, but, again, failed to fulfil that promise.

“They promised to pay me USD500 before the event, but then Furayi said he would send the money as soon as he got to Harare,” said Munodawafa. “Until now, nothing has materialised and my band members are now accusing me of duping them. Yet I didn’t get anything.”

Contacted for comment, Furayi dismissed the allegations, saying Munodawafa performed at his own expense. “That was only a peace prayer meeting and it was for free. We never talked about [the] money,” said Furayi. “We are on our national tour of the peace prayer meetings and if gospel musicians want to perform they are given the platform, and this is what Munodawafa did. We were in Masvingo and, since he is based there, he came to perform and it was for free.”

This is the second time Munodawafa has been embroiled in a payment wrangle. In 2010 he was allegedly cheated when Artisan Studios organised a successful gospel concert to raise money to fund Munodawafa’s eye surgery in the United States. The concert, which featured top South African musician Lundi Tyamara and Nigerian musician Uche, attracted a large crowd, but Munodawafa did not get what he had been promised.