IT WAS once said that when a country goes bad, musicians are often the first to suffer. 

But in African politics, leaders, especially bad ones, strive to maintain good relationships with musicians – often directly supporting them as a means currying favour with their fans.

It happened in Congo where the late Mobutu Sese Seko had good relations with the late Lwambo Lwanzo Makiadi Franco, who reciprocated by composing many praise songs.

But Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe is a different kind of African leader. Mugabe has become either impatient with his country's top musicians or has realised that his misrule is too extreme to win them over. 

In a country ruled by a ruthless leader such as Mugabe, musicians have been unusually bold in their criticism of him and his government. A typical case was Bekithemba Khumalo, a musician from Bulawayo who recorded the album Taking him Away released last year, which also features the hit song The President Is A Thief.

But even for a country quite used to songs critical of Mugabe, this was pushing it too far and it is said that Khumalo had a hard time finding a producer. When he did, music shops would not sell it and nightclubs that played it were raided by Mugabe supporters.

This and other related cases of government clampdown on music critical of the government are documented in country report by Freemuse – an organisation fighting music censorship in the world. The report is based on a study of the situation in Zimbabwe. In a country where the media is mainly state-controlled, music has become the only vehicle by which the excesses of the government can be exposed.

President Mugabe tolerated the criticism for some time. Then, last year, Thomas Mapfumo – one of Zimbabwe's best known singers fled the country when he was warned that his life was in danger. He has taken up residence in the US. Mapfumo, initially a supporter, has a long history of music critical of Mugabe's government.

In the late 1980s, he recorded a hit song on corruption. Two years ago, his song Mamvembe chronicled the despondency felt by many Zimbabweans, who are now fleeing the poverty in the country. The lyrics go thus: 

The country you used to cry for
Is now in tatters
Chipo, carry the baby on your back
Let's get out Johnny, Johnny,
Carry the baby on your back
Let's get out of here

The country you used to cry for is now run by crooks. But other musicians like Oliver Mtukudzi chose to stay despite incidents of violent disruptions of his concerts by people believed to be supporters of Mugabe. Mtukudzi's defining moment was the release of Bvuma/ Tolerance in November 2000, which confirmed his status as the country's most popular musician. In the song Wasakara, he speaks to an old man, telling him that he must accept the reality of his advanced age, in lyrics listeners interpret as directly addressed to Mugabe:

You are over the peak
You cannot do what you used to do
you are old.

The songs have drawn attention to him and defenders of the government are determined to stop him. On February 9, 2001, Mtukudzi played in Mutoko, a small town northeast of Harare, where he encountered the most hostile of Mugabe supporters.

It was reported that "war veterans" invaded the show and forced everybody to wear the Zanu-PF T-shirts and peak caps. The "veterans" then told him not to play the political song Wasakara, but Mtukudzi had decided that he was going to play the song anyway.

At the end of the concert, the audience were beaten up and the musician was only saved by the fact that the cameras were near him and the "veterans" did not want to risk being filmed.

Currently, the feeling in the Zimbabwe music industry that the former white rulers were more tolerant of dissent in music than African successors. According to the Freemuse report, censorship has become more profound in the recent months, but the authorities are careful not to document it.

A DJ interviewed for the report says "the censors prefer issuing verbal instructions and avoid any written warnings; phrases like 'orders from above' are common in stopping air-play of contentious music on the country's radio."

Zimbabwean musician Thomas Mapfumo at Bamboo Club in Toronto, USA on February 27. Pic: Mike Cassese/Reuters.