KWEKWE — Pomp and fanfare characterised the late sungura music icon Tongai “Dhewa” Moyo’s journey back home in Kwekwe following his untimely death in Harare on Saturday.
Hundreds of people here thronged the local heavy vehicle parking bay, Truckers Inn, some three kilometres outside the Midlands city, where the icon’s fans put up a vigil until his body’s arrival to a hero’s welcome around 6pm.
For more than half an hour, business ground to a halt as the convoy accompanying Moyo’s hearse thickened, blocking the Harare-Bulawayo Road.
More than 50 vehicles joined the long convoy from Harare as it snaked into the city before heading towards a private funeral parlour where the body lay in state for the night.
Earlier on, Dhewa’s hearse was intercepted by fans in Kadoma who blocked the road and demanded that the Igwe (King)’s body be taken to Rimuka Stadium before proceeding to Kwekwe.
The family obliged and made a brief stopover at the stadium where the musician used to perform.
The funeral cortege had met with similar demands from his Harare fans who thronged a private funeral parlour and later followed the hearse as it made a few rounds in the capital before leaving for Dhewa’s home town of Kwekwe.
In Kwekwe, Dhewa’s 22-year-old son, Peter, and widow Minehle wept uncontrollably as fans jostled to give their sungura king a royal send-off.
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Cars in the convoy played songs from Dhewa’s famous productions and honked through the night in celebration of Kwekwe’s music icon taken too soon. Fans called on the local authority to name a street after Dhewa to preserve his legacy.
Meanwhile, the Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC-T party yesterday joined the rest of the nation in mourning the passing-on of Moyo, whom it described as one of the party’s supporting pillars.
“The MDC family will not forget the support he gave to our President when Amai Susan Tsvangirai passed away on 6 March 2009. Moyo travelled all the way to Humanikwa village in Buhera to be with President Tsvangirai at his time of grief.
“To his wife, Miniehle Mukweli, children, relatives and fans, we mourn with you. We hold hands together as we continue the journey for real change; a journey where artistes are free to express themselves without fear of victimisation.”
Moyo is expected to be buried at his family home in Sisombe, Zhombe, tomorrow.
