Online Reporter
Trust Khosa
Zimpapers Arts and Entertainment Hub
ORCHESTRA Mberikwazvo backing vocalist and drummer Barnabas “Barna” Mandipota will be buried today at Kadoma Hospital Cemetery.
Initially, his remains were supposed to be interred in Chiremwaremwa Village in Bikita, Masvingo, but the family has now chosen Kadoma, where he was raised.
This follows a resolution passed by elders who agreed that the burial takes place in Kadoma after a tense meeting.
Barna’s brother and family spokesperson — Fastmove Mandipota — confirmed the meeting and new developments.
“Barna will no longer be buried in Bikita as was initially planned. Rather, we have settled on Kadoma. It’s a resolution passed at family level, and we are ready to give him a befitting send-off on Wednesday at Kadoma Hospital Cemetery,” said the family spokesperson.
“We can’t go against our elders who have the final say and we now await his burial. After all, he grew up in Kadoma and it would also be fine for him to be buried in the area where he was raised. He is a Kadoma boy through and through.”
Besides the change of Barna’s burial site, Fastmove addressed concerns surrounding the delays in post-mortem results’ announcement.
Some family members suspected foul play after it emerged that Barna had a deep wound around the neck.
“The doctors advised us that he developed a boil on the neck, which was left unattended for months, leading to complications,” he said.
“The doctor advised us that the pus-filled bump was now affecting his lungs since it spread with his entire body. We were told that he was having breathing problems which led to his death.”
Fastmove also revealed that the family was pleased by the post-mortem results.
“We are all convinced with the doctors’ report, and we are going ahead with the burial,” added.
Asked who had come with the toothache narrative, Fastmove cleared the air: “It was Barna’s wife who told us that my younger brother had a toothache but we wanted to go deeper and hear it from the medical experts.
“It’s procedure that had to be followed through and through for clarity’s sake and we have come to this point.”
Earlier this week, Fastmove described Barna as a loving brother who was dedicated to his work.
He, however, expressed his concern that he had left behind a young family of four children and a pregnant wife.
“We are burying a young man who is survived by four children with the eldest aged 10 years. Barna’s wife is also pregnant, so you can see the additional challenge we now have as a family.
“It’s painful to see people die, but there is nothing we can do about it.”
Barna, who rose to acclaim at Alick Macheso’s Orchestra Mberikwazvo, started from the bottom in Kadoma.
