Garikai Mazara
It was Sybil, I remember very well. Sybil Mtukudzi.
Word had gotten into my ear that Oliver Mtukudzi had a kid, or kids, out of matrimony. We drove to Canaan in the proximity of Robert Mugabe's famous Highfield house (just wondering why Simba Chikoore didn't list that one as well in his divorce dispute with Bona).
One of the toughest tasks of being a journalist is asking someone, especially a stranger, for information that has nothing to do with you. Straight up, I asked Sybil's mother a number of questions and she dismissed me right away, arguing that Oliver was taking care of his daughter, so there was no reason to drag his name in the papers.
Having almost forgotten about the issue, one day Joe Mafana happened upon my door with what he said was a much more sensuous story than the out-of-matrimony kids one.
He provided unsolicited information about Mtukudzi's affair with Mwendy, who was then Joe's live-in. According to him, the affair between Oliver and Mwendy turned him (Joe) into having an "incestuous" relationship with Mwendy's then 18-year-old daughter, Rudo.
Some six years after that story, Sam Mtukudzi was to tragically die in a road traffic accident. In mourning his son, Oliver mentioned "my only son", which, in fact, was a lie since he had fathered Selby with a Mutare woman.
We dug up Selby and found him at a seminary in Harare. Typical of Oliver, he denied him overally and severally - as he had done with other out-of-wedlock children.
Nine years later Oliver was to pass on and the whole world mourned him. He was, indeed, an international star and his funeral aptly captured the iconic status he had attained. He was mourned across nationalities and cultures.
A year after his passing, Selmor Mtukudzi, in remembering her father, posted the accompanying screenshot of her last conversation with her father - Oliver Mtukudzi.
What's my point, you may be wondering. In the conversation, Oliver acknowledges the existence of Sybil (whom he had never publicly acknowledged all along).
He acknowledges Shamiso (who might be or might not be Samantha). He also acknowledges Shupi (who might be or might not be Sandra). Presumably Shamiso is the one who was bought slippers 🤔.
Just a sider here: for all his sexual exploits and misdemeanours across cultures and nationalities, Oliver gave (most of) his children names that initials with an "S".
Well, back to my point: for a super star in the mould of Oliver Mtukudzi, and not only that, but for someone who starred and had a hit song called Neria, a song derived from a film about inheritance, to not publicly acknowledge his children, was wrong.
Not only that, not to leave a will as well, was utterly wrong.
I know some will think that I am about to rock the boat but the Mtukudzi family has not been united, either during his lifetime and worse after his death.
The lessons to be drawn from the Mtukudzi scenario should be ample proof for other super stars, politicians, businesspeople, farmers, teachers (in fact, all and sundry) that inheritance issues need to be addressed.
Selmor Mtukudzi might be singing her father's songs, probably that's the only share that she got. What about the others who are not singers, what's their share?
Munyaradzi MashiriCourt CorrespondentA 32-year-old man, Tafadzwa Mudozori, has appeared at the Harare Magistrates' Courts facing fraud charges after allegedly selling a car that was not registered i..
ZimbabweRutendo MazhinduZim Now ReporterGovernment is stepping up efforts to protect children from polio, with the Ministry of Health and Child Care set to launch the fourth round of its nationwide polio va..
ZimbabweRunodada WitnessZim Now ReporterIn Zvishavane, a small but ambitious football academy has quietly established itself as a breeding ground for top-tier talent.Pams Academy, owned and coached by Brigh..
Zimbabwe
Leave Comments