BY PRECIOUS CHIDA
AFRO-JAZZ songbird Edith “WeUtonga” Katiji yesterday said although it has been over 10 years since she cheated death following a tragic car accident in 2009, she is still dealing with the trauma which has seen her avoiding the wheel.
WeUtonga sustained serious head and facial injuries and was in a coma for almost two weeks following the near-fatal accident which left her scarred on her face. She also lost a friend who was on the passenger’s seat.
WeUtonga, however, said she was still grateful to God who gave her another lease of life after spending a long spell in the intensive care unit in the wake of the crash.
“I celebrated ten years yesterday (Sunday) because I was given a new lease of life by God. The road accident left me in a comma and scarred for life. However, I have been blessed with some wheels and soon I will have to sit behind the wheels,” weUtonga said.
“I’m so tense before a trip and very happy to be in the back seat, but reality is calling for me to get behind the wheel. How can I? A night before travelling, I pack my bags, bake, clean the house and read until morning when the journey begins, just so I can close my eyes and wake about halfway, or towards the end of the journey.
“My mind is always in turmoil and my whole body is tense, especially when I can feel the driver is not steady.”
WeUtonga has been on an international tour in the past few months and has visited Malawi, Norway, Denmark and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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The songbird said on her tour she got a chance to stage a show at the DRC Independence concert.
“In the DRC, I performed at the Independence concert, and it was so overwhelming because this was something that only me from Zimbabwe has done,” she said.
Meanwhile, the musician recently graduated with an Honours Degree in Music Business and Musicology. She described her journey as tough as she had to juggle between her studies and music.
“The road was tough, what with sleepless nights and tours and deadlines. I was in Malawi, the DRC, Zambia and Norway at very crucial times of my study, but thanks to technology, I met deadlines even if it meant I would enjoy less the gallivanting we do on tours, but the hard work paid off and I graduated,” she said.
