30th of October 2007

Lawyers representing Amakhosi, Coghlan and Welsh filed a court application seeking an order from the High Court to stop the police from stopping Amakhosi’s and any other plays in the future.

It also seeks that the court orders that the three plays The Good President written and directed by Cont Mhlanga and produced by Daves Gusha, Everyday Soldier written by Raisdon Baya, directed by Cont Mhlanga and produced by Joshua Nyampimbi and Overthrown written by Stanley Makuwe and directed and produced by Cont Mhlanga be allowed to continue their runs.

It also brings to the attention of the police that they cannot order plays to stop their runs using POSA (Public Order and Security Act).

We hope the court will grant the order so that theater which has come under siege from the police this year can be protected as an art form and as an employer of creative people and protect the right of the audiences to enjoy entertainment of their choice, who are now terrified that if they come and enjoy Amakhosi plays the riot police will be sent to beat them up.

We want the plays on the road as soon as possible.

The plays must play.

We are now preparing information to sue the Minister of Home Affairs, The Police Commissioner General, and the respective police command structures within the Bulawayo Province for loss of business. It costs money to produce plays and some of these uncalled for decisions affect our market and projected revenues.

We will not be intimidated and silenced by overzealous police who don’t even care to read the scripts nor seen the plays. Only one script Every Day Solder was requested by the Officer Commanding and he brought it back full of red ink after he had gone through it and underlined all the dialogue that he considered political.

Two days later he called the producer to his office and said, ‘In that play I read two days ago, why did the character disappear in the story. The police are looking for him and then he disappears. That is not good. You mean police make people disappear. No that can’t be in the play. Go and remove that character in the story or make him not to disappear. If you don’t we will come and stop that play from playing.’ The play did not play.

In the order police should not be allowed to demand scripts and instruct changes. Nor should we be going to them for asking for any type of license to perform our plays. Plays are not police business.

I will keep you updated.

Cont Mhlanga
Amakhosi