Music producer Mono claims Fungisai has dementia as explosive music feud escalates

Music producer Clive “Mono” Mukundu has suggested gospel singer Fungisai Zvakavapano-Mashavave may be suffering from dementia after she disputed his contribution to her catalogue, dramatically escalating their public feud.

The two artists have exchanged accusations on social media amid a wider dispute over cover bands, music credits and the commercial use of Zimbabwean musicians’ songs and identities.

Mukundu told Zimpapers Arts Hub: “For someone to forget such a well-documented history could be due to dementia, so we must pray for her recovery. That is all I can say.”

Mono produces dates to support his claims

Mukundu said his working relationship with Fungisai began on January 7, 2001, when they recorded Tinokutendaishe Volume 1, which included the popular song Vanogona Mwari.

He claimed they recorded Toite Zvedenga on February 7, 2002, before collaborating on approximately five or six further albums.

“All of them produced hits,” he said.

According to Mukundu, they also worked together during live performances between 2001 and 2005. Their most recent collaboration, he said, came in 2023 when he produced Vana Vapera, Fungisai’s song with Silent Killer, at his studio.

Mukundu linked the disagreement to the controversy involving The Intotal Band, accusing Fungisai of being among artists “ganging up” on the group.

Fungisai points to album credits

Fungisai maintains that production credits should be determined by documented records rather than recollections expressed decades later.

“Information about music production isn’t a matter of opinion to be debated on podcasts 24 years later.

“It is a matter of record, permanently etched onto the album sleeve,” she said.

Without naming anyone, she accused people of claiming credit for work performed by others and described some industry figures as “spotlight sick”.

“There is a difference between being a producer and a hired session artist who learns and recreates what the producer has already put together for the purposes of establishing a live band,” she said.

Fungisai had not responded directly to a request for comment by the time of the source report’s publication. However, she wrote on Facebook that artists may previously have supported certain narratives “out of kindness” but accused unnamed individuals of becoming consumed by “their own lies, pure bitterness and hatred”.

She also referred to what she described as “classic Histrionic Personality Disorder”, although she was not presenting a clinical diagnosis.

Cover-band battle widens

The clash emerged after Fungisai alleged that performers were copying not only her songs but also her clothing, dance routines and mannerisms for commercial gain without her consent.

She claimed a leading bank had hired performers resembling her and argued that this amounted to impersonation rather than an ordinary cover performance. She cited the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act, Competition Act and the law of passing off while questioning whether Zimbabwe’s legal system adequately protects artists.

Entertainment journalist Jonathan Mbiriyamveka said many musicians opposed Intotal’s strategy of performing cover versions and that the issue had previously caused a social-media uproar.

Mukundu has defended The Intotal Band by saying it holds a Zimbabwe Music Rights Association licence and operates within the law.

Manyati calls dispute an economic crisis

Journalist Gabriel Manyati argues that the confrontation reflects a deeper imbalance in Zimbabwe’s live-music industry, where cover groups avoid the costs of creating and promoting original material while benefiting from established catalogues.

He cited musician Dino Mudondo’s reported experience at a wedding where The Travellers Band allegedly performed Chirangano, Makoikoi and Jatropha before Mudondo took the stage.

Manyati said licensing alone does not resolve concerns about whether composers receive meaningful royalties. He pointed to musicians’ complaints about opaque payments, disputes involving ZIMURA and the Zimbabwe Collective Copyright Corporation, and parliamentary scrutiny of collective-rights management.

He also cited intellectual property lawyer Moses Nkomo’s view that Zimbabwean law does not adequately define the boundary between an ordinary cover and commercial replication of an artist’s choreography, appearance, vocal mannerisms and stage identity.

Manyati called for clearer legislation, publicly accessible tariffs, digital tracking of commercially performed songs, independent audits of collecting societies and transparent royalty reports.

He argued that reform should protect original creators without destroying a cover-band sector that provides employment, entertainment and cultural preservation.