Dali Tambo, centre, is flanked by President Robert Mugabe, right, his wife Grace, left, and their two children. – image – nehandaradio.com
Dali Tambo and his television show have come under fire from people who think that his show was used as part of a publicity stunt. Dali Tambo had been vigorously trying to get an audience with the president of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe for the past three years. Last week, the Public News Hub reported that he had finally been successful and recently enjoyed a meal with the Mugabes.
The first episode of the two-part interview was aired on Sunday on People of the South on SABC 3. People of the South is a lifestyle programme which features notable Africans in comfortable settings sharing personal and often unknown details about themselves. It is not “Hard Talk… we are People of the South and not politics of the south.”
This is how Dali Tambo defended the show when asked why he did not press the Zimbabwean president for more answers on the controversial decisions he has made during his reign. Tambo explained that he had merely stuck to the usual format of the show where guests discussed their work and their personal lives.
Tambo uttered the heated defence of his television show to Kieno Kammies, the presenter of 567 Cape Talk. Kammies told Tambo that he had been disappointed at how the interview with Mugabe was conducted. Kammies said that the interview seemed more like a “public relations exercise”. Zimbabwe is scheduled to have its national elections later this year.
The first instalment of the interview sees Dali Tambo and President Mugabe candidly conversing in the presidential garden. The atmosphere is easy and laid-back though at times Mugabe is seen hammering the armrest of his chair repeatedly to emphasize points that he is passionate about.
The interview ends with an invitation to Tambo to join the family for lunch. That part of the interview will feature the first lady Grace and their two children. It will be aired on Sunday 9 June on SABC 3 at 8.30pm.
