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The Show Must Go On! - Jacaranda Queen 2003
Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ)
October 13, 2003

GALZ wishes to apologise sincerely for the serious inconvenience caused by the last-minute requirement to change the venue for Jacaranda Queen 2003 from the Marble Hall to a local nightclub. The explanation is as follows:

Although Jacaranda has been held at the Marble Hall under the name Jacaranda Queen Beauty Pageant four times without hitch over the past ten years, this year objections were raised at the last minute and these centred largely around the proposed visit by the President to the National Sports Stadium on the following Sunday morning when he was to attend a World Cup football match. On Saturday evening, at around 5:00 p.m., we were told by the National Sports Stadium Director, Mr Muzire, that we could continue with the show but that we would need to vacate the premises by 9:00 p.m. We agreed to this and made plans for the after-show party to take place at a local nightclub. Mr Muzire also informed us that patrons of the neighbouring VIP Sports Bar had threatened to gang up against us and so we agreed that acess to the Sports Bar would be closed and that our audience would make exclusive use of the bar in the Marble Hall.

At around 6:30 p.m., as it was getting dark, the lights went out in the Marble Hall but nowhere else at the stadium. All efforts to get Mr Muzire to attend to the matter failed. It was at this point that it was decided that to continue with the show as planned would prove dangerous and in the interests of safety and the security of all it was decided to move the show to a gay-friendly environment. Besides, with no lighting, there could be no show. The Manager of a local nightclub kindly offered the use of her club as a closed venue for the night and it was decided that, rather than cancel the show altogether, we should take up the offer and reschedule the event for 9:00 p.m.

The Jacaranda Committee was very conscious that Jacaranda Queen is the biggest event on the lesbian and gay calander in this country and it was unthinkable that the organisers be bullied into cancelling altogether thereby disappointing our audience, many of whom had come from outside Harare especially for the event.

We were aware of the security concerns and had employed 12 security guards from Viking Security, all of whom had been given concrete instructions. In addition, police clearance had been acquired and two members from a gay-friendly police station were present. At the nightclub, security gaurds were deployed from Robert Mugabe Road to Speke Avenue. A security guard and a member of staff of the club remained at the Marble Hall to direct people to the new venue.

GALZ is now seeking legal advice including the launch of a full investigation into the matter and will put in place measures to ensure that future Jacaranda Queen events are not disrupted. We are also making an effort to organise a smaller function to introduce the new Jacaranda Queen to the community in a gay-friendly environment. Those who still have tickets may use them for this event.

The extent of the financial loss to GALZ has not yet been calculated but is likely to be high especially as most revenue from potential ticket sales was lost.

This year's event proves that, despite huge strides in the acceptance of gay and lesbian people in this country, we are still vulnerable to attack by state agents and bigots. Nevertheless, despite the intimidation, the organisers and the contestants stood firm in their determination that the show should continue and the GALZ membership stood behind us. The revamped nightclub event, put together in less than an hour, was a resounding success. Although initially we felt demoralised, the spirit of lesbian and gay pride won through and once again we have shown that, as a community, we have the strength, stamina and determination to stand our ground and win through.

Dumisani Dube
Jacaranda Queen Event Director

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