On this day . . .

Tongai Moyo, popular in music circles as Dhewa, Murozvi Mukuru, Samanyemba, Mopao Mokonzi, breathed his last on the evening of October 15 2011 and on this day Zimbabweans woke up with reality sinking in that they will not see the sungura artistes on stage anymore.

Moyo, born on March 12 1968 in Kwekwe, rose from being a clerk at Kwekwe General Hospital to be one of the most recognisable faces in Zimbabwean showbizz. Flamboyant in the latter days of his musical career, the early years were, however, a struggle and he was largely dismissed as a copycat of Leonard Dembo.

However, his fortunes were to take a turn when he released Samanyemba, the song that thrust him onto the limelight. From being a backing artiste, with his Utakataka Express, Moyo was to soon command a huge following and his rivalry with Alick Macheso was to reach fever-pitch, with each musician releasing songs that were largely seen as “dissing” the other.

His funeral wake at Mbizo Stadium, in his Kwekwe homeground, was attended by an estimated 15 000 people. He was laid to rest at his rural home in Zhombe.