The Sunday Mail
It’s official, ego has won over talent.
Sungura outfit Extra Kwazvose, formed two years ago, has split after months of intense leadership squabbles.
Four of the band leaders namely Francis “Slomo” Dhaka, Obert Gomba, Jonas Kasamba and Noel Nyazanda have failed to reach consensus over leadership of the band.
This publication revealed two months back that fissures pointing to a possible split of the outfit, also known as the Rebels, had developed, but founders of the group tried to water it down.
Music critics had for long been calling for the group to appoint a single leader, arguing the system they were using was outdated and no longer compatible with the modern music business systems.
However, bloated egos among the founders rendered such advice pointless.
History books reveal groups like the Four Brothers, Khiama Boys and the Bhundu Boys that had a similar leadership style back in the day encountered similar challenges and only overcame them when they ultimately appointed individual leaders.
But instead of addressing the leadership pact challenges, the group till the time of their split (and to date) conveniently limited themselves to blaming sungura maestro Alick Macheso for fanning divisions in their outfit.
Most members of the group have made it clear that life under the four leaders was not smooth-flowing owing to rigid bureaucracy.
A simple decision would take days to be passed, while there were no clear channels for dealing with issues to do with gigs.
While Slomo has since boldly declared that he has taken charge of Extra Kwazvose, the other three — Gomba, Nyazanda and Kasamba — seem to be lost in the boondocks. “I’m now the leader of the Extra Kwazvose and already making plans for the future. The group has to adopt workable systems so that we progress.
“So far the other guys have indicated that they cannot work under me hence I have cleared the road for anyone who wants to leave,” declared Slomo.
The popular dancer said he was going to retain the name of the group and the other band members that helped set up the outfit. Initially Extra Kwazvose had 12 members.
“Junior band members are behind me. Any of the three guys that have left can come back and work under my leadership. I believe we can achieve more when united, but the leadership structure we were using was just not functional. Any group needs a poster face. This (split) was bound to happen anytime because of the mounting challenges we were facing,” added Slomo.
Kasamba, however, has come out guns blazing, accusing Slomo of being a rogue element within the Rebels cause. The chanter challenged the nimble-footed dancer that he was not in any way going to derail the “Rebel Vision”.
This, he said, meant they were going to set up yet another group.
“We sat down with the other guys and agreed that we can’t let the ‘real rebels’ cause die. We will soldier on as the Original Extra Kwazvose,” he said.
Slomo argues to be the brains behind Extra Kwazvose and justifying the take-over but Kasamba is of a different view.
“Franco joined us later and was not part of the real rebels. We came from Macheso (Alick) and him (Slomo) from Sulu (Chimbetu) hence we have different backgrounds.
“One person cannot derail the movement and we are not worried about this development,” said the chanter, adding, “It should be known that we have no intentions of going back to Macheso.”
However, while Kasamba is trying to put on a brave face, the development has devastated his colleagues, with Nyazanda seemingly being the most affected.
His grief could easily be felt throughout the interview he had with this publication. “I was happy with what we had achieved to date, unfortunately the road has come to an end because Franco now wants to do his own thing.
“He (Franco) wanted us to play under him, but Obert, Jonas and I agreed that we would not let that happen,” he said.
Adds Nyazanda: “I think he got the idea from the fact that he composes most of the songs that we record.
“Honestly the move has pained me and I’m now waiting for something to come through. Any other option will be better than working under Slomo.”
Gomba, “The Double-kicker”, has taken a back seat. The veteran drummer, who is understood to have the highest chances of rekindling his relationship with Orchestra Mberikawazvo, said he was not going to make a rushed decision over the issue.
“For now I’m not attached. In such situations you need time to reflect. I don’t want to make a rushed decision, doing so will lead to yet another blunders,” he notes.
Former Utakataka Express bass guitarist and Orchestra Vazvamburi frontman Ronnie Mudhindo feels this is a test of character for all the parties involved in the predicament.
“I think these other three guys that feel were left by Franco should just stick together like it was in the beginning. They are acting like juniors to Franco in the music industry yet they in fact have more experience.
“Franco has proved that he is a man by making a bold decision and they should act likewise. The guys should avoid moving in circles and just soldier on with their work,” he said.
Extra Kwazvose has two albums namely “Ndizvo Zviripo” and “Zvepasi Rino”.
