Cecilia Chibaya
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has granted a State Assisted funeral to the late celebrated National Arts Merit Awards (NAMA) legend and playwright Continue-Loving “Cont.” Mdlala Mhlanga.
Mhlanga passed on yesterday at the United Bulawayo Hospital (UBH) after a short illness, he was 64.
In a statement, the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Dr. Misheck Sibanda said Cont had been granted the state-assisted funeral due to his great achievements in the arts sector.
“This is in recognition of his great achievements as an international acclaimed playwright, filmmaker, and creative director who came as a trailblazer in our country’s creative and cultural industries.
“Only recently the late departed had been appointed as a member of the National Team for the Creation of a Strategy for the Zimbabwe Film Sector.
“On behalf of the Office of the President and Cabinet, and indeed on my behalf, I wish foremost, to express my deepest condolences to the Mhlanga family who have lost a beloved father and breadwinner, and to the cultural and creative arts community in general, who are the poorer with the demise of one of Zimbabwe’s most respected icons the arts sector has ever produced. May his dear soul rest in peace,” he said.
Mhlanga’s career in the cultural and creative industries began in 1982 when he formed Amakhosi, a youth karate club. However, it switched to professional theatre in 1988. It also created the first pilot centre, the Amakhosi Performing Arts Workshop ( APAW) which produced and toured with theatre plays written and directed by him. Mhlanga wrote more than 20 plays. Among them includes Good President, The End, and Children on Fire.
