Charles Molele
The internationally acclaimed Zimbabwean music legend Oliver Mtukudzi died on Wednesday morning at Harare’s Avenues Clinic following a long illness.
Mtukudzi’s death was confirmed by Joy of Jazz founder and music promoter, Peter Tladi, in an interview with the SABC on Wednesday afternoon.
The 66-year-old music icon and UNICEF goodwill ambassador, whose music career took him to more than five continents, has been battling illness for the past few months and was hospitalized in December after falling ill.
Mtukudzi’s career spans decades, having started in 1975 when he released his debut single Dzandimomotera.
The single and it was so popular that it stayed in the then Rhodesian charts for 38 weeks, 11 of them as number one. He followed up Dzandimomotera with the percussive hit single Mutavara (1977), now included on the album Shanda, but originally on the album Ndipeiwo Zano (1978).
As a solo artist, Mtukudzi had
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