 leonard karikoga zhakata (born 10 february 1968) is a zimbabwean musician and singer. he writes and performs songs mainly in his native shona tongue.  zhakata, who adorns trademark glittering outfits, is best known for his hits hupenyu mutoro, batai mazwi and "gomba remarara". however, it was his 1994 smash hit mugove, from the album maruva enyika, which evaded government censorship and propelled him to national stardom. in 1994 at the age of 26, he became the youngest zimbabwean musician to sell more than 100,000 copies of an album, when his solo album maruva enyika sold more than 120,000 copies. in 2006, zhakata spoke out about the government and asked for the radio waves to be freed to allow zimbabweans to operate radio stations. some of his music is blacklisted by the government and banned on state radio due to perceived political statements.{{cite web | last = kwenda | first = stanley | title = zhakata offers hope for zimbabweans | url = http://www.zimgreats.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=63&itemid=26 | accessdate = 2009-04-03 | date = 2006-07-07 
1968_births Living_people Zimbabwean_male_singers Zimbabwean_musicians