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Inside/Out with artist and journalist Stanley Kwenda
Kubatana.net
January 19, 2011

Full interview with Stanley Kwenda - Read and listen

Describe yourself in five words.
I'm a very patient individual who likes to see things done.

What's the best piece of advice you've ever received?
Be patient, be as articulate as you can, do your best in life, don't harm people.

What's the most ridiculous thing you've ever done?
I remember an incident when I wanted to beat up Jonathan Moyo at a local club.

Interviewer: Why would you want to do that?

I'm a journalist by profession, and sometimes you get angry at the things he's done as an individual and in his previous capacity as the Minister of Information. I would say that his actions marked the death of the media industry in Zimbabwe.

What is your most treasured possession?
My laptop.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Not being able to access the basic necessities in life, like water health and education.

Do you have any strange hobbies?
Not really, except that I do like to mix a lot of different beers and drink them from one cup. It started when we had a lot of shortages in this country.

What do you dislike most about your appearance?
Nothing, I like the way I am.

What is your greatest extravagance?
I remember buying a watch that cost me about $450.

What have you got in your fridge?
I have a couple of eggs, milk, a loaf of bread and a small packet of beef.

What is your greatest fear?
Being visited in the middle of the night. Now that the issue that happened to me last year it is something that still haunts me.

What have you got in your pockets right now?
My wallet, it's full of bankcards but there's nothing in the accounts.

What is your favourite journey?
I like flying to Hamburg in Germany. I've fallen in love with it. It's Germany's cultural city; it's so cosmopolitan. I find it inspiring because it's a place where you can fully utilise your creativity.

Who are your heroes in real life?
My mother is my hero. Despite giving birth to seven kids, I'm the fifth, at one point she had all of us in school all on a nurses salary. There are people now who can't do that. It really takes a strong character to pull off something like that.

When and where were you happiest?
When my wife gave birth to my only daughter.

What's your biggest vice?
Despite the fact that I'm broke, I'm always generous.

What were you like at school?
I was a go-getter. My father influenced me to like journalism. When I was at school I kept focussed on that career, and I was one of the first people to publish a newspaper at school.

What are you doing next?
I'd like to make sure that my organisation (Artists for Democracy Zimbabwe Trust) makes a difference in this country. I want to see artists raising their voices more to what is happening in this country.

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