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Writer's pictureMbizo Chirasha

Samanyanga Tuku , the Spirited Maestro of Katekwe



As Angels of time wiped their sleep - hardened eyelids and dawn winked to this our earth with its sorrow -gripped rays. And in Guruuswa, the spirit -land, wonderland of great giant elephants, the iconic Nyamasvisvas, the great Samanyangas trumpeted totemic praises of Tuku Mtukudzi, the musical doyen of Katekwe renditions, signaling the death of their own. On the 23rd of January 2019.Morning birds chirruped dead poetry and bands of rock rabbits decoded a nerve shredding funeral anthem. The skies got eclipsed by clouds of grief and the bone-chilling news of the sudden demise of the elephantine giant musical griot Zimbabwean singer Oliver Mtukudzi,Zimbabwean UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador,

Iconic Artist of the land,A very important Human being.



On that great day of the Almighty God. The sun disappeared and a heavy -tear pregnant sobbing cloud engulfed the village terrains, wild jungles, political corridors, gutter streams, brothels and shabeens. Hermits and Presidents wept profusely, the loss of the Iconic global arts culturist and legendary musical maestro. Graffiti and billboard artists scribbled soaked epitaphs on Mavuramadonha Cave Walls. Media Chefs brewed befitting obituaries of a humble icon gone to soon. Oliver Tuku Samanyanga.Not to be outdone, clay hardened peasants danced his songs until the earth wept. Samanyanga had gone to meet the Almighty Creator. City laborer’s wept and drenched their torn overalls with sorrow aroused snort. Parliamentary debates we remote -paused, the president sang an impromptu eulogy. The House of Stone the entire globe slid into a din of mourning, trances of awe and frenzy of bereavement seized the land. Storms of grief eroded merriment and promise. Tuku had gone to meet the Almighty, the giant tree had fallen

. Radio stereos coughed heart-rending tributes A book of life befitting of an artist was written and launched in the heart caves of his followership. Zimbabwe groaned from the apex to the peripheral pleats of cities, to hems of villages and up to the seams of farmlands. Showers of eulogies and drizzles of testimonials drenched twitter boxes, Facebook timelines and blog archives. Poets waxed lyrical verses and metaphoric testimonies tell talking the gigantic lifetime of the doyen of African artistry and the Musician Emeritus Samanyanga. Befitting tribute to the fallen giant musical baobab. Bulletins, editorials and tabloids are sweating with the hot potato news of the passing and the abrupt silence of the African griot, Oliver Tuku Mtukudzi.




Zvokwadi rufu ndimadzongoyendze

Zvino Todii? He –e todini?

What shall we do?

Tumira mhere kuvakuru kuno kwaita mabasa kuno.

The great musical elephant griot is no more

The paragon of peace and tolerance, Samanyanga.

Profound lyricist and revered writer, Sororenzou.

Global entertainer and respected griot, Mutukudzi .

Great poet and African storyteller.

The giant musical baobab has fallen

The air is shrieking with pain and grief

People are sobbing in trances of death loss

Dande Mountains are sobbing

Mavuradonha hills are saddened

Guruuswa is weeping .


Samanyanga your elephantine dance taps remain footprints in the of our heart boxes.

Stereos, podcasts, vlogs and televisions buzz with his popular songs Dzoka Uyamwe and yes Sororenzou, you have gone back to belonging, to the beginning, to the embrace and warmth of God’s tenderness. Your songs are timeless and like baobab, they don’t grow old. Like heaven, they don’t age. Superstar you join your talented son Sam Mtukudzi who was zinged away from us by tragedy before his tussling

We all, write and sob knowing you will be received by good hands and enjoy the delight of the heavenly bliss. You have paved the way as always, pacesetter of our times. Todii? What shall we do? Is the question now heaving with questions marks in the trembling hearts of many in Africa and beyond? Todini? What shall we do? After you have gone. The question Todini? Remains our tutelage for life issues. The lyrics defines the wrath and the pain of sexual abuse. Such revered grandmastery cannot go untold or you deserve befitting testimonials. You deserve befitting memorial renditions. History will judge us and generations will be cursed, if we fail to give legends their befitting tributes. Your advocacy for the respect of human rights and girl child rights was beyond touch. You advised the godchild to remain holding on, to be steadfast, and to be resilient as they danced to the touching imagery of Neria.Your lyrical dexterity is unmatchable. Your literary prowess is so profound. Your charisma ethnic and organic. You was a natural teacher, an emotional healer and a creative intellectual. A larger than life icon. A humanitarian and a symbol of great talent. It never end there. Samanyanga. The Zimbabwean Musical Ambassador y who carried the beauty, the character and the aspirations of Zimbabweans in the strings of your guitar. The wind of your voice and elephantic dances taps are felt at home and to the horizons afar. A cultural diplomat of your own match. The wind of your songs swept through villages, streets, cities, seas, oceans and great mountains.





The legendary giant of Guruuswa

.Samanyanga.Guurruswa is weeping profusely.

Dande Mountains are sobbing.

Mavuradonha Mountains are nodding with grief.

The sun have turned blind.

The giant in you remains touching our hearts and tickling our ears.

You are not dead but silent.

You are not dead but sleeping.

Samanyanga you sparkled with meritocracy

and you shone with ethno -African humility.

You pocketed awards like oranges in the glitz of red carpets on Zimbabwe podiums

and global stages. Sixty-six musical albums decorated your journey from rags to stardom

and to musical prowess.

Grand master.

Your shoes are hard, long and thick for any of us to fit.

but will forever drink from the pleasant refreshment of your artistic legacy.

Yours songs remain rhythmic verses of African poetry,

serenading our grief seized and pounding hearts.

Your song Bvuma, Tolerance sums it all .

Maybe it meant that when time comes we need to give in ,

or it’s a moral counsel to autocratic and delinquent leaders, to toe the line of democracy. To surrender leadership keys whenever time burnt their days into old age.

Your scintillating storytelling acumen ship schooled us many things

. The witty in your fables, riddles, idioms and proverbs remain stanzas of song in our groping but grieving souls.

Nzou Samanyanga Oliver Mutukudzi.

Gigantic elephant of Guruuswa.

Giant baobab of Mavhuradonha.

Let the Lord the giver and taker of life.

The fountain of blessings and bliss give you the key to the mansion of warmth and peace in heavens quarters.

Rest in peace the great musical giant.

Lest We Forget,

Storyteller par excellence. Educator extraordinaire , Acclaimed entertainer.

May his great soul rest in the eternal embrace of great Almighty God. Till today ,the gigantic Mavuradonha is donned in blouses of grey mist . The spirit land , Guruuswa dances in drappings of fog still.



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Mbizo Chirasha
Mbizo Chirasha
May 15, 2020

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