Thandanani founding member dies

Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent
THANDANANI Women’s Ensemble founding member, Yengiwe “MaMbatha” Ngwenya (pictured), has died. She was 65.

MaMbatha died on Thursday evening at her home in Matshobana, Bulawayo.

Group leader, Florence “MaTshabalala” Sithole, describing the late MaMbatha as a mother figure, said the group is devastated by Mambatha’s passing.

“She was a mother to all of us in the group as she was kind and warm-hearted — an embodiment of ubuntu. She’s left a huge gap in the group and how her shoes are going to be filled, we wonder,” said MaTshabalala.

She said MaMbatha will be missed as she was an integral part of the group.

“She would teach us traditional songs in the Kalanga language and culture. She was the one who used to play the traditional drum for us. We are at a loss for words following her death as she was a woman of integrity,” she said.

Mourners are gathered at the family home in Matshobana with burial arrangements set to be communicated soon.

MaMbatha who helped found Thandanani Women’s Ensemble in 1991 is survived by seven children. — @bonganinkunzi