With Fred Zindi
This past year, 2021 was more than just a marker of where we existed in time. It was basically its own expression.
Between the Delta, Omicron corona virus pandemic, economic woes and many other obstacles, 2021 became shorthand for death, anxiety, anger, sadness, grief, trauma, loneliness, and pain.
When people asked us how we were doing, we could answer, “Well, you know, it’s 2021.” When something bad happened, we said, “That’s 2021 for you.”
These past few months especially, 2021 was something we just wanted to be over. The sooner it goes away with all its woes, the better for us all.
In the arts industry, several artistes passed on in 2021. These include Thomson Dondo, father to King 98, Dennis Wilson, radio broadcaster who had become a singer with Transit Crew, Soul Jah Love of Pamamonya Ipapo fame and Friday Mbirimi, lead singer with Mbare Trio who died on April 6 this year.
Keep Reading
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Only last week I was shocked to hear the sad news of the passing on of Cuthbert ‘Kuchie’ Maziwa.
I had known Cuthbert since the 1970’s. In 1978, Solomon Chiweshe musician and son of a rich businessman, met me at the airport as I was coming home for a short visit from London.
He asked me where in Zimbabwe I would be staying. I told him that I needed to visit my parents in Mutare first before going anywhere. He asked me how I was going to Mutare and I told him that I would be going on the bus.
His response was: “No way. Do you know you are a star here in Zimbabwe. You shouldn’t board a bus. I will take you to Mutare!”
I couldn’t believe it, but sure enough, we drove in his brown Ford Capri all the way to Mutare at his own expense and we together stayed at our house for three days until I was ready to go to Harare.
In Harare, Solomon, Thomas Mapfumo, David Marumahoko and some members of the Aces Wildflower Band joined me in recording a song titled Shumba.
I later learned that Solo was also with the Band Eye Q which was fronted by Cuthbert Maziwa, a rock band musician. Solo introduced me to Cuthbert and together we had a jam session at Solo’s house in Westwood. He was into rock.
This was at the time the Hippie fashion was popular and Cuthbert even dressed like a hippie which was the trend amongst the youth of the 1960’s and 1970’s, with his spacey verbal references, crushed velvet pants and bandannas.
That same week, I had a jam session with the Eye Q band at Gwanzura Stadium where I played Hey Joe on the lead and I was joined by Cuthbert Maziwa.
You can imagine the sweet memories we had together after I got to know Cuthbert. Jamming with him was like a dream come true. Eye Q was part of a counter culture which has almost been totally forgotten in Zimbabwe today. In the late 1970’s during the last decade of Zimbabwe’s war of liberation, rock music exploded with a message of unity and hope. It disappeared after that.
The story of Cuthbert Maziwa up until his death is better told by John Masuku, veteran journalist and broadcaster who went to the same primary and secondary school with Cuthbert. He says:
“I am shocked and equally devastated to learn that Cuthbert Maziwa my primary school classmate at Kudzanayi Primary School (1960s) and secondary classmate at Highfield Secondary School,Harare (early 1970s) is no more.
At primary school, our teacher was the late Hosea C. Mahere where in Standard 6A class Cuthbert and I shared the same desk for two. At secondary school we were together in 3 Arts and 4 Arts classes and were to remain in the arts and showbiz industry for life.
After school Cuthbert aka ‘Kuchie’ together with his late siblings Canaan and Charles as well as our ex- classmate, Charles Sifa and others formed EYE Q Band, a youth rock band which became very popular with the songs such as Please the Nation and others like Eniweth and Pezuma.
Remember those days late rock music icon Jimi Hendrix of the Jimi Hendrix Experience was a huge favourite to many of us youngsters…especially with his world hit song All Along The Watchtower.
Kuchie emulated Jimi Hendrix in many ways.
I interviewed Cuthbert a number of times and played his music on my early morning shows on the then RBC African Service, later Radio 2, now Radio Zimbabwe.
Cuthbert later joined the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe and worked as a cultural officer for some decades.
He is credited for opening and developing the Murehwa Cultural Centre where he promoted the ‘mbende‘ dance big time.
Cuthbert was the only surviving sibling in the family of late well known Highfield traditional healer ‘Masambaasiyana’ and his wife who lived on the same New Canaan street with broadcaster Ishmael Kadungure, environmentalist-cum- broadcaster, Dynamos founder Morrison Sifelani, father of DJ Soul Supreme Kelvin Sifelani, Sakhile-Sifelani Ngoma of WIPSU etc as well as well known sales and marketing executive of the time Enos Mbofana, Comfort Mbofana of Star FM‘s uncle.
My heartfelt condolences to the Maziwa family, Laban Kandi who reportedly gave muzukuru Cuthbert his first guitar and family, Charles Sifa of Jerusarema -surviving Eye Q band member, journalist Christopher Muzavazi who also had a stint with EYE Q.
We are now poorer in our Highfield Secondary School ‘Class of 1973’ WhatsApp chat group without Kuchie…thank you Mutsvene John Marangwanda, also related to Cuthbert for alerting us about Cuthbert’s demise. Fare thee well Kuchie.
MHDSRIP”
I went back to England after my recording with Cuthbert. I did not meet him again until after independence when the rock scene had changed in Zimbabwe.
There was a new revolution in traditional music and Cuthbert seemed lost.
Despite his splendid guitar playing on his Fender Stratocaster, he did not seem to have many musicians interested in advancing the rock craze.
This is when he joined the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe where he teamed up with Albert Nyathi under the stewardship of Titus Chipangura.
As he was now based in Mrewa, we occasionally met when he came to town, but in 2015 an American-based record company with the name Now and Again Records under their headquarters executive named Matthew Schechmeister came to visit Zimbabwe in search of rock music from the 1970’s.
Albert Nyathi introduced them to Solomon Chiweshe former keyboards player of Eye Q and Aces Wildflower, Cuthbert Maziwa, former guitarist of Eye Q, Moses Kabubi former keyboards player from Movement, Never Mpofu former bass player of Eye of Liberty, Virginia Phiri former Eye of Liberty and Myself (Fred Zindi), former Stars of Liberty.
We gathered at Solomon Chiweshe’s house in Harare’s Westwood suburb where we all had a jam session and agreed that we would re-release our 1970’s songs with them.
The team also went to Bulawayo to confirm with Ebba Chitambo who was Eye of Liberty’s drummer and vocalist in the 1970’s.
In no time at all Now and Again Records had released the single Power to The People by Stars of Liberty whose flipside was I Am Not Selfish by Eye Q.
Cuthbert was paid US$200 for the pre-contract agreement before he left for Mrewa where he was now based as a cultural officer under the Natiuonal Arts Council.
The last time I met Cuthbert was in 2020. He told me that he was back in Harare as he had retired from work. He was handling several youth projects in Harare but we did not go into detail of what he was doing until the shocking news of his death came to me last week.
Farewell Cuthbert Kuchie Maziwa: Farewell to the cruel year of 2021. May his dear soul rest in eternal peace.
- Feedback: frezindi@gmail.com