God Knows Jonas: 'I'm 100% Irish but I'm also 100% Zimbabwean'

AuthorLauren Murphy
Published date29 June 2022
Publication titleIrish Times: Web Edition Articles (Dublin, Ireland)
In the case of his new single Twelve 61, that is meant in literal terms. A series of fortunate events unfolded after the 32 year old's interview with the Sunday Times last year, when he spoke for the first time about his uncle Dickson Chinx Chingaira, one of Zimbabwe's best-known musicians and a war veteran of the country's fight for independence

Jonas recalls him visiting their house in Chitungwiza, a city about 25km outside Zimbabwean capital Harare, as a child, when crowds of neighbours would flood the street to catch a glimpse of "Comrade Chinx".

"It'd be like there was a parade or something; that's how many people came out of their houses to see him," he says, laughing. "And that's how it would be every single time he came to visit; he wore his trademark beret and he would wear African kente, so he was always very noticeable. He was a star and he was on telly all the time, especially in the 90s. I already looked up to him anyway, so it was like 'Duh! That's what I wanna do!'"

Until last year, however, Jonas had been somewhat reluctant to discuss that branch of the family tree publicly, instead choosing to align himself with Chinx's son, Lenin, also a musician in Zimbabwean band Slice. The elder Chingaira suffered a fall from grace in the eyes of many, after he used his music to publicly endorse Robert Mugabe's controversial land reform and government policies. When he died in 2017, there was much debate over whether he should be declared a national hero in the African country.

Jonas, who moved to Shannon via Sheffield with his family at the age of nine while his father worked for Shannon Aerospace, says his change of heart was instigated by a bout of depression that his younger brother experienced in 2017. He realised that he needed to set an example by being honest and real in his own life. "I remember at the time, especially around the Rusangano days, I would avoid anything that was a divider or anything polarising," he says. "I'd just stay away from it because I didn't want to cause any hassle. I wanted the music to be at the forefront, and anything that I said, I wanted to leave it within the music for someone to discover — and if it came up, maybe I'd speak about, or say 'I choose not to speak about it'. But when my brother went through [that], I thought 'why am I trying to be strong when I can be honest and help others?' Why not now, as an adult, speak about this nuanced topic? And say 'Yeah — that was my uncle. He was an incredible musician...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT