Albert Nyathi responds to bond notes advert criticism

Poet Albert Nyathi has responded to criticism that his appearance in a bond notes advert meant that he was now working for Zanu PF.

Responding to the issue on a writers’ WhatsApp group, Nyathi said he was not working for any political party, adding that he only appeared in the advert because it was an RBZ commercial. He said:

I have never performed for any political party, not that they don’t approach me. They invariably do so, most of them. I think the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is not a political party, and for that reason, I saw nothing wrong in doing the advert.

On Facebook a writer known as Jera posted a screen grab of the television advert, with the caption that criticised Nyathi. Several people following the Facebook debate argued that there was nothing wrong with what Nyathi did, as he was just an artiste doing his job to put food on the table. Participants on the WhatsApp group felt that as an artiste, Nyathi had a responsibility to debunk the “single story” myths and it was naive to try and force him to pander to their political whims.

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