reprinted with corrections and additions from the Newsday

by Michael Madyira

Gospel music sensation Pastor Charles Charamba on Saturday fought his own battle against music piracy when he unleashed police details on a fan caught filming his show using a mobile phone at Midlands Hotel in Gweru.

The reveller, Daniel Johnson, filmed Charambas performance on stage for about an hour using his Nokia X2 phone and the Fishers of Men frontman called the police who pounced on the culprit.

Johnson was then prevented from filming and also forced to delete the material he had captured.
“We have no problem with people taking videos or pictures during our shows. But it is wrong when someone records 10 songs or content for more than an hour. That would be enough stuff to make a DVD which you would see being sold in the streets,” Charamba told journalists soon after his show.

Local musicians are battling against music piracy, with their work pirated and sold openly on the streets.
DVDs of recorded live shows, especially of sungura maestro Alick Macheso, are selling rapidly on the parallel market.

While some comments on the Newsday Web site were praising Charamba’s move, other readers wondered:

“Why should he be concerned about piracy if it is the work of God?”

OR

“If someone was really called by God to preach thru music, piracy should be a blessing in disguise..”

OR something even condemning:

“Charamba must go to hell if he thinks an X2 Nokia can produce DVD content which brings him down. I feel pity for the man who felt like recording his fav musician who steals verses from the bible without ease.. “

Meanwhile, Charamba revealed he is working on a single with forgotten gospel musician Zex Manatsa as part of his new album. “Definitely I am going to release an album before the end of this year, but am not yet sure about the exact dates. It is not going to be soon, but later on in the year.”

Charambas last project was “Pashoko Pangoma” released in 2010.