Hugh Masekela in 20009. Photo by Tom Beetz.
It was less than a year ago on March 15, 2017 when I sat down with Hugh in Sandton to talk about his support and participation in the second Kwame Nkrumah Cultural and Intellectual Festival. I had contacted Hugh through our mutual cultural worker friends to request that he participate in the Festival that was scheduled for June 25, 2017. In the communication, Hugh had expressed an interest in coming to the public lecture that I was scheduled to deliver on March 14 at the University of Johannesburg. Before the lecture he had sent his regrets that he could not come to the lecture but dispatched Rapelang Leeuw to collect me so that he could discuss his contribution to this festival.
The theme of the Festival was Education for Transformation.
From the outset of the discussion, Hugh Masekela made it clear that he supported the idea of the Festival, and that he would travel to Legon, Ghana and perform at his own expense. After explaining the nature of the enterprise to promote the ideas of Kwame Nkrumah for a free, emancipated and socialist Africa, Hugh called up Mbongeni Ngema (composer and director of Sarafina fame) to discuss how the Sarafina expression of defiance could enhance the festival. After brainstorming for two hours of how much it would cost to bring the group of over 70 performers to Ghana, we agreed that we would look for sponsors and to see the availability of the Ghana National Theatre for their performance in…