A Zimbabwe radio station called ZiFM Stereo had to clarify a whole thing after their show The Rush, hosted by MisRed, did some audience vote called the Rush Awards. The vote named opposition figure Fadzayi Mahere the overall winner. This did not go over well with some people online, specifically supporters of the ZANU-PF party and President Emmerson Mnangagwa. These supporters ripped into the station, calling it unpatriotic and demanding it get shut down. Other nominees in that top category had connections to the president's circle, like businessmen Wicknell Chivayo and Pedzai Sakupwanya, also known as Scott Sakupwanya.
The station basically said everyone needs to touch grass. They put out a statement saying these awards are not an official station thing at all. They described it as just a silly listener poll for the show The Rush, reflecting only what those listeners think. They said the whole point was to be light-hearted and generate chat. Other winners in different categories included soccer player Marshall Munetsi, charity head Loveness Mainato, Bitumen World's Andre Zitsman, and Vambo AI's Chido Dzinotyiwei. They explained that for the Zimbabwean of the Year category, the audience nominated and voted for people who were all over the news or got everyone talking. The nominee list also included Tino Machakaire, Hilton Mudariki, and cricketer Sikandar Raza.
Their final stance was basically a shrug. They said the votes came in, they talked about the results on air as planned, and they are actually cool with all the arguing it started. They even invited more people to keep debating about who should really win the title, framing the whole controversy as just engagement for their dumb little segment. The implication is clear: they are not backing down or apologizing; they are just telling the angry mob to chill because it was never that serious to begin with.
The station basically said everyone needs to touch grass. They put out a statement saying these awards are not an official station thing at all. They described it as just a silly listener poll for the show The Rush, reflecting only what those listeners think. They said the whole point was to be light-hearted and generate chat. Other winners in different categories included soccer player Marshall Munetsi, charity head Loveness Mainato, Bitumen World's Andre Zitsman, and Vambo AI's Chido Dzinotyiwei. They explained that for the Zimbabwean of the Year category, the audience nominated and voted for people who were all over the news or got everyone talking. The nominee list also included Tino Machakaire, Hilton Mudariki, and cricketer Sikandar Raza.
Their final stance was basically a shrug. They said the votes came in, they talked about the results on air as planned, and they are actually cool with all the arguing it started. They even invited more people to keep debating about who should really win the title, framing the whole controversy as just engagement for their dumb little segment. The implication is clear: they are not backing down or apologizing; they are just telling the angry mob to chill because it was never that serious to begin with.
