Age might be catching up with him, but not when he is on the stage. He can still show younger musicians how it is done. When he is in his element, Mapfumo appears to be in a trance.Mapfumo also delighted revellers with his laid back style of dancing. For close to three hours, Mapfumo belted out his popular hits including new songs. Ecstatic revellers were singing along with him. In some songs, he would accompany his singing with strumming the guitar. The guitar is a symbol of hope for Mapfumo.
This was the weapon that he used to fight the Ian Smith regime. When the Zimbabweans came under repression from a black dictator, Robert Mugabe, Mapfumo waged the struggle with his guitar again. He stopped singing songs praising the government, but started bashing the ZANU-PF regime. Mapfumo started singing about corruption and in the injustice that was meted out to his people. But you do not point fingers at old Mugabe and get away with it. As a result Mapfumo was forced into exile in the United States of America (US).
