Patrick Mukwamba: Still bitter with Marshall

28 Sep, 2014 - 06:09 0 Views
Patrick Mukwamba: Still bitter with Marshall PATRICK MUKWAMBA

The Sunday Mail

PATRICK MUKWAMBA

PATRICK MUKWAMBA

Some wounds never heal. Consider the case of forgotten musician Patrick Mukwamba. The “Wapenga Nayo Bonus” hit-maker had beef with the late great musician, Marshall Munhumumwe, and he still has.

The yesteryear musician, Mukwamba, is in dire straits and he blames the late Munhumumwe for his financial woes.

Mukwamba, who recently released a lukewarm six-track album titled “Please Call Me Back” – which is a far cry from the standards he set himself in the ’80s – feels his bid to become one of Zimbabwe’s top musicians was derailed by Munhumumwe, who “personalised” his compositions and later ensured that he would not benefit from them.

So deep is his dislike of Munhumumwe that some have questioned his sanity. After all, the beef is a thing of many years ago.

“We never got a chance to rectify our differences until the time of his death. And honestly, I don’t wish to forgive him. How can I forgive him? Remedy would only have come had he agreed to do shows with me while he was still alive,” said Mukwamba.

According to the musician, his compositions recorded on the album “Tonosangana Ikoko” in the ’80s made the Four Brothers a sought-after brand. And this, he argues, was why music lovers believed Munhumumwe was Mukwamba. The arrangement they had then stipulated that Mukwamba and the group (the Four Brothers) would do recordings between 1983 and 1984 and share royalties equally.

Lured by the growing popularity, Mukwamba wanted to permanently join the group. But this, the musician says, was thwarted by Munhumumwe “who was worried about my potential” as an artiste.

Mukwamba further alleges that Munhumumwe went further and threatened not to pay two band members who supported Mukwamba’s inclusion.

Frozen out

However, it is unclear why Mukwamba did not record his so-called game-changing hits with his own group, The Season’s Band.

“I was never part of Four Brothers but Marshall travelled to Canada on the popularity of my songs. He told the promoter that he could sing each and every one of my compositions and hence there was no need for me to be part of the travelling team,” he said.

“That was a life-transforming trip and Marshall bought instruments that marked the beginning of his rise. I was left in the cold and never wanted to see him from that time till his death. In fact, I wanted to set dogs on him had I gotten the opportunity,” said a deadpan Mukwamba. Starting from the late ’60s with the Carnations Band, Mukwamba has been a nomadic artiste, linking up with several groups over the years and never quite finding a home.

He moved from Tanganda Tycoons to Rollicking Band based in Victoria Falls before leaving for Mhangura Mine to replace Thomas Mapfumo as the lead vocalist for Hallelujah Chicken Run Band.

Life after Munhumumwe

After a two-decade-long break, Mukwamba is trying to get back into showbiz.

Munhumumwe died some 12 years ago, but Mukwamba has not filled that void as he believed he would.

Now 67 years old, he still hopes that the heavens will smile on him.

Mukwamba, inspired by the in-form Zimdancehall genre, has tried to experiment with reggae beats on a number of tracks featured on his new album.

But the rhythms are not-so-appealing, and oddly, songs on the album disturbingly change volume as the tracks play. “Because of financial constraints, I recorded my album with a new stable instead of the traditional recording giants. The decision has, however, proved to be a blunder on my part. I will not be giving them business again, they are not professional. You have different people taking turns to record you while various individuals walk in during the recording process,” he said.

Outside music

In the two decades that he has been off stage (his last gig was at the 1994 Jenaguru Festival), Mukwamba has tried his hand at the sculpture industry and other means of earning a living.

At some point, he opted for formal employment with an engineering company in Rusape.

“I tried to do my own thing after the sabotage (by Munhumumwe), but I failed. A single that I recorded using Fred Zindi’s instruments in 1985 titled “Usanyare Basa Raunoita” did well but he (Zindi) later on went to reclaim them and I was again left in the cold forcing me to sell sculptures outside the country. “The trade was lucrative before we adopted the multi-currency regime. Exchange rates guaranteed profits but everything changed after 2009 and I retreated to engineering.”

Family and life

Above all, the Rusape-based musician says he misses his family.

His wife passed on in 2004 and he has since then lived a lonely life. The three children the couple was blessed with are all in South Africa and the musician cannot visit or relocate to be with them since he does not have travelling documents. He does not even have a national identity card.

Mukwamba stays in a rented apartment in Vhengere, Rusape, though he owns a house in Unit K, Chitungwiza. Ironically that house is adjacent to that of the late Munhumumwe’s son.

“Basically I stay alone in Rusape. I do miss my late wife and kids that are in South Africa. The first born is a guy and was born in 1974 while the last born of the two girls was born in 1982. I cannot visit them since I don’t have necessary documents to get a passport,” he said.

And typically, as he blames everyone else in his life except himself, he says there is a reason behind him not having such vital life documents.

His father did not want him to get a birth certificate since he feared that he would relocate to Mozambique where he had a girlfriend that he (the father) disapproved of.

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