;10,000 prize at a dinner held here this week.
Also on the shortlist were: Sefi Atta (Nigeria), for The Last Trip, Darrel Bristow-Bovey (South Africa), for A Joburg story, Muthoni Garland (Kenya), for Tracking the Scent of My Mother, Laila Lalami (Morocco), for The Fanatic.
The prize, is awarded annually for a short story by an African writer, published in English (whether in Africa or elsewhere), with an indicative length of 3,000 to 15,000 words. – Staff reporter
Brits bar Mapfumo
LONDON – Immigration lawyers representing Chimurenga music guru Thomas Mapfumo have appealed against a decision by the British Government not to allow him to enter the UK. Mapfumo has already been forced to cancel a performance in Bradford last weekend and could be forced to pull out of two more shows later this month if the appeal is not successful. “Our lawyers are still trying to find out why he was denied a visa, but the immigration people are taking their time,” tour manager Savanna Madamombe told The Zimbabwean. Mapfumo, who lives in self-imposed exile in Oregon USA, applied for a visa through the British consulate in New York. Surprisingly, he was granted a work permit but denied a visa. The UK tour was aimed at promoting his new CD entitled Rise Up. Several times during the past decade Mapfumo has incurred the wrath of the Mugabe regime for his provocative lyrics, which highlight state-sponsored corruption in Zimbabwe and human rights abuses, among other issues. His music is banned on the state-controlled electronic media. In the seventies his music was banned by the Smith regime for glorifying the role of freedom fighters in the struggle for liberation. – Staff reporter
CIO infiltrates court case
LONDON – The Asylum and Immigration Tribunal in the AA test case this week heard a chilling account of how state security agents ‘deal with undesirable elements of the opposition MDC party in Zimbabwe. At one point the tribunal had to be held in camera following a request from solicitors representing AA because a key witness in the hearing identified two central intelligence organisation agents in the gallery. “The account given in court left the judges shocked. The witness was speaking from past experience in the job and no-one doubted his credibility which was a massive blow for the Home Office,” said a source. – Tichaona Sibanda, SW Radio Africa