Freshlyground not chicken to change

Cape Town - The fact that South African group Freshlyground has been forbidden from entering Zimbabwe is proof that their latest music video has struck a chord.

"There's no media freedom there, and the video shows this," the group's spokesperson Sarah Barnett said on Sunday.

It emerged at the weekend that the group's visas have been withdrawn. According to a Zimbabwean immigration official, this was a result of their new music video, Chicken to Change, which is about Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.

The group were set to travel to Zimbabwe on October 1 for one performance at the Wild Geese Lodge near Harare to an audience of mostly Zimbabweans.

"The video's message has been proven right," said Barnett.

The video was made in co-operation with the satirical ZANews and launched on the internet at the end of September. In the video, a doll that looks like Mugabe reads a newspaper called "Bob's Times".

Hero who lost his way?

Zolani Mahola, main singer of the group, sings that Mugabe used to be a hero but has lost his way, as Freshlyground's website explains. However, he still holds the key to the country's future.

The lyrics include the following: You promised always to open the doors for us/ Indeed it is you and only you who sleeps with the key/ You are chicken to change!

Barnett said they spoke to a Zimbabwean immigration official over the phone on Friday.

"He said the visas had been revoked and if we wanted to know why, we should look at our latest video on the internet."

"We would have considered singing Chicken to Change, but we hadn't discussed it yet. We thought we might be asked not to sing it." But they didn't expect to be refused entry to the country.

"We wanted to stimulate debate about Zimbabwe - not about us. The song is supposed to remind people that the situation in Zimbabwe is still horrible."

It would have been their first performance at the lodge, but in the past they performed regularly at other venues in the country.

"Zimbabweans are one of our favourite audiences, and one of our members (Simon Attwell) is originally from there," said Barnett.