The Sunday Mail
TEN things you probably didn’t know about Devera Ngwena:
1. Robson Banda was one of the founding members of the group.
2. “Devera Ngwena Volume 9” was the first album that Jonah Moyo recorded without his founding partners.
3. “Baba Mati”, like most of Devera Ngwena Jazz Band’s songs, was inspired by a true life event, when Innocent Bitu did not respond to his wife calling him Baba Jessie . . . he only reacted when she changed to “iwe Innocent”.
4. Jonah Moyo bought a house in Rhodene, an affluent Masvingo suburb, in 1984 and paid the 10-year mortgage within a year. He still owns the house.
5. “Solo naMutsai”, which became a national hit and wedding anthem, was a filler on “Volume 3”.
The song was inspired by the love between Solomon and Mutsai, real-life characters in Mashava.
6. Devera Ngwena used to be so huge that they opened for UB40 and Paul Simon. Proud “Kilimanjaro” Chinembiri wouldn’t fight without them playing as an opening act.
The likes of Oliver Mtukudzi and Leonard Dembo used to curtain-raise for them.
7. Patrick Kabanda and Jabulani Bitu, two of the founding members of the group, passed on in 2008 and 2011, respectively, leaving Jonah Moyo, Innocent Bitu and Jonisayi Machiya as the surviving members of the original Devera Ngwena.
8. Jonah Moyo and Tony Rivett once made a Z$2 000 bet on “Wangu P” and “Too Cheap”. Jonah went on to win the bet with “Wangu P” outselling “Too Cheap” by more than three times.
9. For every Devera Ngwena seven-inch single sold in Zimbabwe, two were sold in South Africa, the popularity of which Jonah Moyo is still riding on in that country.
Unfortunately, the South African royalties never made it into their pockets.
10. Oliver Mtukudzi was the guest performer at Jonah Moyo’s wedding, which was a three-reception affair.
The wedding started at White City Stadium in Bulawayo, moved to Chevron Hotel in Masvingo, before winding down in Gokwe.
