23
Jan
Obituary: Mtukudzi
The internationally recognised Zimbabwean Afro-Jazz legend Tuku died at the age of 66.
He sang in the nation's dominant Shona language as well as Ndebele and English. Experimenting with different Southern African musical styles, including mbira, mbaqanga, jit and the traditional drumming styles of the Korekore, he ended up creating what is known as "Tuku music". Mtukudzi's deep, husky voice has become the most recognised voice to emerge from Zimbabwe.
However, Oliver "Tuku" Mtukudzi was much more than just a famous musician: also, he was a businessman, philanthropist, human rights activist and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Southern Africa Region.
Wasakara ("You are getting old"), off the commercially successful Bvuma ("Tolerance") album released in 2000, has lyrics about an old man who must accept that age has caught up with him. The musician was denied an honorary degree by the University of Zimbabwe only because this hit song was deemed to be anti-President Robert Mugabe although Tuku never said if he actually meant the long-time ruler of Zimbabwe. Might be for safety reasons that Mtukudzi always claimed he was apolitical; but he also said that meaning of his music had to be left to his fans to deduce.
In 2014 the Great Zimbabwe University gave the musician a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Ethno-Musicology and Choreography.
Tuku lived long enough to witness a progressive change in his homeland in November 2017 when 93-year-old Mugabe resigned shortly after parliament began an impeachment process to end his nearly four decades of rule.
Born on 22nd September 1952 in Highfield, a neighbourhood in the Zimbabwean capital, Oliver Mtukudzi died on 23rd January at Avenues Clinic in Harare, Zimbabwe. He left a rich heritage that will be cherished for many upcoming years. There will always be a person to chant at: ‘‘Bvuma, Bvuma Chete, Bvuma Wasakara, Bvuma Waunyana" ("Accept, accept that you are on the wane; accept now that you have wrinkles on your skin)’’.
