‘Mudhara Danger’ dies

Sophia Chese Arts Correspondent—
Prominent actor Fidelis Cheza, popularly known as “Chikwama” or “Mudhara Danger” after his roles in popular comedy Mukadota and soapie Studio 263, has died. He was 67. Cheza was found dead in his bedroom at his Highfield house on Sunday evening. Family spokesperson and Cheza’s niece Revina Makonyonga said the actor went to a wedding after party on Saturday and came back in the early hours of Sunday morning and went to bed.

He spent the whole day in his room until the family went to check why he had not come out of his room around 9pm on Sunday and found him dead. “He was well and showed no signs of sickness on Saturday when he left home for a party in the neighbourhood. He came back around 2am and went to bed. “He spent the whole day sleeping and we thought he was tired so he needed to rest, it was when we decided to wake him up to have supper when we discovered he was dead,” she said.

Makonyonga said the family is saddened by Cheza’s death and described him as a happy man who was ever smiling and wanted everyone around him to smile. “It’s a great loss, he was full of love and always preached unity and love wherever he was, to us his children, we saw him like a friend and people would ask if he was really our father because of the way we related.

“Everyone enjoyed his company and he died before his 68th birthday in November,” she said. Cheza is survived by two sons who are currently in the United States. Mourners are gathered at No.2827 M33 Old Highfield. Burial arrangements will be announced in due course. The award-winning Cheza featured in more than 40 film productions both locally and regionally. He is one of the veterans of the Zimbabwean film industry. Some of the film productions he took part in include the 1987 feature film “Quatermain II”.

That same year he had a supporting role in “The Jungle Hell Is Going On”. He gained popularity as “Chief Palala” in the Canadian-US adventure film, “The Lost World”, and another production in the same year titled “Back to the Lost World”. In 1993 he starred in “The Track of the Wind” and “Bopha”.

In 1997, he starred in an episode of the television series “Diamond”, as well as in the film “Kini & Adams” as Tapera among many other film productions. Most film lovers knew him as Mudhara Danger after his role in Studio 263. During the time of his death he was shooting a new film “Makunun’unu Maodzamoyo”.