Luciano Comfortable With Transit Crew’s Backing
HOPES of Luciano’s band members linking up with the reggae superstar in time for the Jacaranda Festival which kicks off at noon today have been effectively quashed following revelations yesterday that organisers could not guarantee a flight that would bring them to Harare on schedule for the show.
However, the band’s failure to make it has turned out to be a blessing in disguise as Transit Crew, the local group that is now backing Luciano, has impressed the musician so much that he is mulling taking them on at least one overseas tour.
Luciano’s band members failed to fly into the country after British immigration authorities allegedly denied them transit visas to connect through the UK en-route to Zimbabwe after the group’s leader came out in full support of the country’s land reform programme. Luciano also praised the leadership of President Mugabe and this did not go down well with the British who reacted by denying them transit visas.
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority chief executive Mr Karikoga Kaseke, whose organisation is behind Luciano’s visit, yesterday said they faced time constraints in re-routing the band members as they were only informed of the transit visa application failure on Wednesday.
“We also felt that the same thing could happen (denial of visas) if we tried to route them through another European country,” he said, indicating that they instead concentrated on finding an alternative back-up band.
“The nation was becoming impatient because the tour had previously been postponed and we felt that people would not understand us if we failed to stage the show on schedule,” he said.
However, it appears Luciano is happy with Transit Crew as his back-up, with Mr Kaseke saying that there were tentative plans to engage the group in international tours.
Some people who called The Herald yesterday expressed disappointment at the turn of events.
A big reggae fan, Itai Manzou of Eastlea, said if it was true that the band members were barred from routing through the UK because of Luciano’s utterances on land reform then “it was a very despicable act on the part of the British”.
“I was really looking forward to hearing the whole band play. Alternative arrangements could have been made as the UK is not the only route to Zimbabwe,” he said.
A 28-year-old Mbare resident who only referred to himself as Jah Gidza said: “They (the British) can try whatever they want but they can’t stop the message from spreading. Babylon will not prevail because it is good over evil every time, and that is what we believe in as Rastafarians.”
Cuthbert, a self-employed Marlborough resident, said the denial of the visas showed “how desperate the British” were and that “they should be embarrassed by such childish behaviour”.
Via The Herald
