On May 25, Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) Zimbabwe ambassadors Pastor G and Victor Kunonga, working closely with Zimbabwe’s premier reggae band, The Transit Crew, hosted a cultural event as part of UN Millennium Campaign-sponsored activities to commemorate the life and work of the late Dr. Tajudeen Abdul Raheem. Dr. Abdul Raheem tragically died in a car accident on Mombasa road in Kenya last year, on his way to Rwanda to promote a campaign called “Piga Debe” (Make a Big Noise) for Women’s Rights.

The key message was “Africa must unite to kick out poverty” in memory of the late Deputy Director of the UN Millennium Campaign. The event sought to profile the legacy of Dr. Abdul Raheem — especially his work to highlight the fact that mothers should not die giving life.

Zimbabweans who gathered at the Mannenberg on Africa Day in Harare did not disappoint.

In a passionate speech, Stanley Gwanzura, an anti-poverty campaigner, chronicled how Dr. Abdul Raheem’s work in the Campaign had positively impacted the lives of many young people in his generation. He noted that through Dr. Abdul Raheem’s brotherly links with local activists, artists like him and Victor Kunonga ended up as GCAP Ambassadors.

He vividly recounted how he was moved by the speeches Dr. Abdul Raheem had made, specifically during the inauguration of GCAP ambassadors in Southern Africa at a Mwengo-organized workshop and at the World Social Forum in Kenya. On both occasions, Gwanzura felt compelled as a Christian preacher to almost scream “Hallelujah” as Dr. Abdul Raheem discussed poverty and inequality.

When Victor Kunonga took the stage and played songs from his new album “Handinete,” which literally means “I will persevere,” he moved the audience so much that everyone took to the dance floor.

He reminded attendees that this was no ordinary show for him, but was like a Zimbabwean spiritual gathering called a “Bira” where he was sending a great ancestor home to rest through song and dance.

When it was Dr. Patricia MacFadden’s turn to pay her tribute, Dr. Abdul Raheem must have smiled wherever he is. She recounted some moments to demonstrate how he spent a lot of his time sharing incisive thoughts on Africa’s pertinent social, economic and political issues, in addition to actively campaigning for a just and fair world.

She noted that while Africa Day had brought about independence from colonial rule, another new struggle must be waged to rid the continent of the problems bedevilling more than fifty percent of its population: the women! This pronouncement drew a thunderous applause from the crowd, especially the young who proudly identified themselves as feminists seeking to promote what they had learned from Dr. Abdul Raheem and reaffirming that the struggle continues.

His thinking was circulated widely in a weekly column under the title Thursday Post Card. It was circulated freely on the internet and adapted for use in many African newspapers and websites. His writings have now been compiled into a book called “Speaking Truth to Power.”

When it was The Transit Crew’s chance to perform, its youthful quartet of vocalists repeatedly chanted that “Africa Must Unite” and must have made the late Bob Marley smile, as he was the proponent of progressive social teachings through what he termed “Forget your sorrows and dance!”

Moved by the powerful testimonies from Pastor G and Pat, the band went through its selection of songs befitting the occasion and confidently chanted lines reminding all that campaigning for 50 percent representation of the women of Zimbabwe in government and political leadership was a noble cause.

By the time Prof. Fred Zindi from The Transit Crew bade farewell and thanked all for their solidarity, it was evident that all present had affirmed Dr. Abdul Raheem’s views that the destiny of Africa is in the hands of Africa — hence his full faith in Pan Africanism. To Dr. Abdul Raheem, it was about African agency and supremacy in African affairs. In his words, “No one owes us a living. We owe it to ourselves. That is why it is necessary to look at both the external and internal dimensions of the African condition. Depending on the theme and timing, I may not succeed all the time, but that is where I am coming from.”