Minister in the Presidency Collins Chabane was honoured for his contribution to South African music at a star-studded dinner in Polokwane on Friday night.
Chabane a former Limpopo minister, was presented with a plaque by the South African Music Rights Organisation to celebrate his musical journey.
Unbeknown to many South Africans, Chabane was a founding member of Movement, an mbira-based music outfit that recorded two albums between 1999 and 2005.
Chabane comes from a musical family, with a brother and sister who have recorded albums. He also studied music theory while he was incarcerated on Robben Island between 1985 and 1990.
In 1999 he met Zimbabwean musician Basil Mukombe, who had been part of Thomas Mapfumo’s legendary band Blacks Unlimited.
The meeting resulted in Chabane learning to play the mbira as well as the formation of Movement.
Hero of Samro
‘Minister Chabane is the first member in the history of our organisation that has risen to play a critical role in the leadership of the nation,” said Samro CEO Nicholas Motsatse.
Chabane was joined at the intimate gala dinner by about 200 guests, including members of his extended family and numerous politicians.
These included Limpopo Premier Cassel Mathale and Minister of Public Service and Administration Richard Baloyi.
Also in attendance were a number of heavy-hitters from South Africa’s music industry, including Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse, Steve Kekana, Judith Sephuma, Selaelo Selota, Don Laka and Thomas Chauke.
Chabane and Mukombe later treated the guests to a couple of mbira numbers and Chabane later danced to his own recordings, ad-libbing some harmonica.
At the end of the evening, Chabane gave an emotional speech, saying the Samro honour had come as a huge surprise and that he deeply sympathised with the plight of struggling South African musicians.
Chabane promised that in his role as a senior leader of the country, he would do his utmost to aid South Africa’s musicians.
For a full interview with Chabane and a detailed report of the event, see next week’s print edition of the Mail & Guardian.