POPULAR comedian Fidelis Cheza, who starred as Danger in the Studio 263 soapie and Chikwama in Mukadota dramas, has died.
BY OWN CORRESPONDENT
Executive director for the Zimbabwe International Film and Festival Trust Nigel Munyati confirmed Cheza’s death on his Facebook wall yesterday.
“We had just finished a short film, The Collector, in which he co-starred with Zimbabwe’s first blind actress. Rest in peace Fidelis aka ‘Chikwama’ Cheza,” Munyati said.
Cheza, who featured as Mukwa in the recently launched film, The Collector, is believed to have passed away on Sunday at his family home in Highfield, Harare. The film features Zimbabwe’s first visually impaired actress Edith Masango.
Cheza also featured in Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold (1986), A Far Off Place (1993) and Return to the Lost World (1992), Kini and Adams (1997), and a drama of Makunun’unu Maodzamoyo adapted from Charles Mungoshi’s Shona novel and rubbed shoulders with popular actors like Denzel Washington. The Collector director Justice Chapwanya-Mukoena described Cheza as a fatherly figure.
“I was shocked to hear about his death. I pass my condolences to his family. The short period we worked together on The Collector he was like a grandfather figure to me, sharing a lot and helpful information about many circumstances in life. I am planning to go there (to Highfield) this afternoon (yesterday),” he said.
Wilfred Chidyausiku, who worked with Cheza recently, said he would divulge more information where the mourners were gathering in Highfield.
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Another source said: “The body is expected to arrive home from a funeral parlour where it will lie in state overnight. The burial will be tomorrow afternoon (today) at Warren Hills Cemetery. Finer details on specific timeframes will be announced in due course.”
