Many musicians are faced with a number of challenges especially in times of illness and worse still after their death, their families suffer a lot as many will not be receiving royalties or support from companies they recorded with.

Despite his fame, the late Paul Matavire’s family has not been spared as narrated by one of his daughters, 13 years after the death of her father.

Despite having shared the stage with other popular musicians and selling thousands of records, many artistes die with their fortunes and fame, leaving their families in a sorry state.

Matavire is one of the artistes who, despite having sold thousands of records during his heydays, today his family has got nothing much to show for it as narrated by one of his daughters Dzidzanai Matavire who was spotted at a roadshow at Maranda Business Centre in Mwenezi their home area and her story is a sad tale.

“Since the death of my father when I was a little girl our life has never been the same as we are struggling to survive. I stay with my grandmother and I left school when I was in Form 3 in 2012 when I got pre_gnant. Since then I have been home. In as much as I would want to go back to school, my grandmother cannot raise money for my school fees as she struggles to take care of us,” she said.

For Senzeni Mazeti, Matavire’s former vocalist in both the Jairos Jiri Band and the Hit Machine, life has never been the same since their leader’s death despite Matavire’s brother Whatson trying to revive the legacy but to no avail.

“I worked with Matavire very well as his sister from his home area and it pains that he died with his legacy as no one has been able to revive it. We used to hold successful shows as his music was very popular and people loved him a lot,” said Senzeni.

The sad story of Matavire’s daughter and his former vocalist shows that record companies must review the issue of royalties so that those left by breadwinners are able to survive.

Paul Matavire remains one of the most celebrated Zimbabwean sungura musicians who rose to fame through his songs such as Handirambi, Kisimusi Yatosvika, Nhamo Yousavi and Tanga Wandida whose wit and humour-laced approach to serious social issues made his lyrics quite relevant, even today.

— ZBC