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unite the Chimbetu family and celebrate the life of the late liberation war hero and dendera music maestro.
Suluman, Allan and Douglas will feature at the inaugural gala to be held at Orange Groove Motel in Chinhoyi.
Tryson is yet to confirm his participation as he is said to have shows already booked in Mt Darwin.
Suluman’s public relations officer, Joe Nyamuropa, yesterday said preparations were going on well, adding that the whole Chimbetu family would attend the gala.
“The whole family will be there as well as Richard Sakala and Sulu’s sister Saiwe are among those who will perform at the gala.
“We are also expecting the late John Chibadura’s sons to perform and this will coincide with Heroes and Defence Forces celebrations,’’ he said.
Other artistes expected to perform include Cindy Munyavi and pupils from Simon Chimbetu Primary School — named after the late musician.
Nyamuropa said the Simon was very patriotic to the extent of enrolling Sulu, his eldest son, for the national youth service and eventually the army.
“It was not Sulu’s idea to join the army but his father made the decision for him,” he said.
Allan last week said they were ready for the show and promised fireworks.
“The show is not about us only about celebrating the life of Simon but the lives of gallant sons and daughters of Zimbabwe who sacrificed their all to liberate our country from the oppressors,” he said.
Apart from the Chimbetu family, Media, Information and Publicity Minister Webster Shamu, friends of the late liberation hero and other dignitaries are expected to grace the occasion.
Angela Chimbetu has appealed to dendera fans and Zimbabweans at large to attend the gala.
The day’s events will begin with the laying of a wreath on the late musician’s grave.
Simon died in Harare August 14, 2005, at the age of 49.
He was born in Musengezi although his roots are in Manicaland where his father Benson Chimbetu was born of Malawian parents.
Born on September 23, 1955, Simon attended the local Musengezi High School before heading for Harare in search of employment.
His music was strongly influenced by his experiences as a black person in a racially polarised Rhodesia and a liberation fighter with Marxist ideals.
After independence he got a job at a tobacco processing company but his passion for music saw him regularly playing at Mushandirapamwe Hotel in Highfield.
Together with his siblings Naison, Briam and Allan, they formed the Marxist Brothers and had a string of hits during the 1980s and early 1990s. Simon, however, achieved greater success when he went solo, recording all-time classics like “Nguva Yakaoma” (1990), “Ndouraiwa” (1992), “Karikoga” (1993), “Pachipamwe” (1994), “Zuva Raenda” (1997), “Lullaby” (1998) and “African Panorama-Chapter One” (1999), to mention just a few.
leeroy