MLISWA PAYS TRIBUTE TO TUKU
By Mluleki Ncube|Norton Member of Parliament Hon. Temba Mliswa says Norton has lost a gentle giant in music icon Dr. Oliver Mtukudzi, who passed away on Wednesday 23 January at Avenues Clinic.
Speaking to The Norton Times, Hon Mliswa chronicled the first impression he got when he paid a courtesy call on the icon during his 2016 by-election campaign.
“I went to see him at Pakare Paye. He received me well. I told him of my plans and my decision to stand in Norton. He just listened and did not say anything much. I understood………, Tuku was always skeptical of politicians, reason why he always steered clear of political events. With time, we clicked. Maybe the fact that we were both Methodists played a part, and, oh!….maybe our both being zodiac Virgos!”, said Hon Mliswa.
“I am of the Shumba totem. Tuku was of the Nzou totem, Samanyanga. My relationship to Tuku might well mirror that of the lion and elephant. The proverbial king of the jungle always humbles itself in the presence of the giant.
Even in my preferred norm as a loud and roaring lion in the political jungle, something always humbled me when this elephant was around”.
“My worry, or maybe joy, is that now that he is gone, those Nortonians who seemed not to understand him, even viewing him as aloof, with get to appreciate the respect one of their own commanded worldwide. Knowe will be a small place indeed. Such is the way of prophets. Never appreciated amongst their kin until death”.
“Towards this year’s elections, he told me he would be away on tour during the elections. I said ‘but Samanyanga, you promised to vote for me!?”………..to which he answered, ‘Shumba, there is no need for me to. Your works will cover for my absent vote. Victory is yours. Take that as my prophecy’. I believe it was.”
He said his relationship with the icon and his family grew so much in a short space of time, as illustrated by each side’s attendance at the other’s family occasions.
“Tuku helped me mourn and bury my father, while I, together with the people of Norton, hosted an event to honour Tuku after he was named in Africa’s Top Ten that same year. Pursuant to my lobbying for the government to give him a diplomatic passport in honour of the way he continued to put Zimbabwe on the global showbiz map, I invited my fellow legislators to tour Pakare Paye, which the Portfolio Committee on Sports, Arts and Culture did in 2017. Sadly, he has departed before that came to fruition”, he continued.
Hon Mliswa said he has high hopes that even as the nation mourns Tuku, the late icon’s legacy will be nurtured in all its manifestations.
“I know the family will be in safe hands of an able mother, Amai Daisy Mtukudzi. The Norton Town Council must really help make Pakare Paye a tourist attraction by extending rate concessions to the centre. That will go a long way in allowing the vision that Tuku had when setting up the place in Norton come to bear. I also encourage all the musicians he nurtured at Pakare Paye, the likes of Mbeu, to keep the torch burning. Our “Sekuru Vemusha” is gone, and, wherever he will rest, his rest will be peaceful in the knowledge that his mentorship was not in vain.”
“May I, on my own behalf, on behalf of my family and the Norton constituency at large, pass my condolences to Amai and the whole Mtukudzi family. Together, we mourn a gentle giant. May his soul rest in eternal peace”, he concluded.
MP LOBBIES FOR TUKU NATIONAL HERO STATUS
Meanwhile, Norton Member of Parliament Hon Temba Mliswa has pleaded with government to confer national hero status on the late music icon, Dr Oliver Mtukudzi.
In a letter to the Head of State, His Excellency ED Mnangagwa, Hon Mliswa cited Dr Mtukudzi’s documented contribution to the music, arts and culture industry in Zimbabwe dating to before independence.