Dembo remains an enigma

It is very difficult to find a person who is very shy but inexplicably articulate. That sums up the late musician Leonard Dembo.

The fiery lead guitarist, singer and composer, born Leonard Musorowenyoka Kwangwari Gwaendapi Dembo breathed his last on April 9, 1996 but his music still lives on.
Dembo’s music artistry saw him set foot on the pedestal of greatness which saw him buy a house in Belvedere — that time a preserve of the rich and famous Indian community and drive a sought-after Toyota Cressida.

He also had his hit and classic “Chitekete” played at world stage, putting the icing on his already musically well-manicured cake.
Musorowenyoka’s songs dwelt on the normal love, social and economic tales told by musicians but there was something about his style that made his products tower above the rest.

He was the first artiste to gain recognition for playing long tracks which hovered above 12 minutes when other competitors compositions lasted a mere five minutes of play.
Keen to honour our icon posthumously, I went into our library to try and see if I could lay my hands on anything about the late but great Dembo as he was affectionately known by his fans.

To my surprise, there was little written about him.
Oddly enough, there is a whole lot of stuff written about Freddy “Kapfupi” Manjalima than there is for Dembo.
Today, there is more written on Jah Prayzah, Suluman Chimbetu and Tryson Chimbetu than Dembo.

I could never imagine that Dembo was so elusive that no art journalist or critic managed to interview him.
Of course, while we put blame on journalists for failing to do their job, the late Dembo was also to blame.
I am told besides being a shy character, Dembo had an axe to grind with the media at the time.

According to one music critic Funny Mushava, who profiled and interviewed several local musicians, he said Dembo was a bitter man.
The story is when he brought one of his recordings to one newspaper, he got a poor reception by a certain music critic (name supplied).
Dembo was told that his work was sub-standard and that the critic would not waste his time reviewing his album since there were better albums on the market.

From that day, Dembo is said to have walked out of the newsroom with the tail between his legs and vowed not to involve the media in his work.
This was his way to hit back at the media.
As fate would have it, Dembo’s album sold gold and sparked interest of the media.
However, it was too late. Yes, Dembo was wronged but he forgot that two wrongs don’t make a right.

But with regard to music videos, it was more to do with Dembo’s character. He was camera shy. He would not face the cameras and it took Eric Knight, the then Radio 2 and television presenter to convince Dembo to record music videos.

His only two popuar videos which were screened on ZBCTV were “Sharai” and “Manager”.
Contrary to reports that those were the only videos by Dembo there are a number of videos that were recorded but were not screened on ZBCTV.
Just like the few newspaper articles, there are not many videos being aired on television to show for Dembo’s great artistry.

The sad part is that whatever we want to know or learn about Dembo it has to be hearsay although we still hear his voice through his music.