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Harare Bureau
Mbira music star, Mbuya Stella Chiweshe’s body arrived at her rural home at Masembura in Bindura yesterday ahead of burial today.
Before departing for Bindura, a memorial service was held at Nyaradzo Funeral parlour in Harare.
Family spokesperson, Mbuya Chiweshe’s daughter Virginia Mukwesha-Hetze said: “The farewell will be conducted in a traditional way with the playing of drums and mbira. There won’t be a church service.”
The internationally acclaimed mbira queen Mbuya Chiweshe was accorded a State-assisted funeral after succumbing to cancer of the brain last Friday.
Born Stella Rambisai Nekati Chiweshe on July 8, 1946, in Mujumi Village, Mhondoro, Mbuya Chiweshe was internationally known for singing and playing the mbira. She was married to Peter Reich, a German national.
With a career spanning over 40 years, she had various local and international awards including the Billboard Music Award (1993), National Arts Merit Awards (Nama 2006), Nama Lifetime Achievement Award (2020) and Nama Legends Awards (2021).
Mbuya Chiweshe performed numerous times in Germany and also participated in the WOMAD festival (1994 in the United States, 1995 in Australia, and 2006 in Spain). In 2004 she toured England with her daughter.
Blessing Chizhande
Bongani Ndlovu