Alick Macheso shaken by Dhewa's death

Sungura ace Alick Macheso spoke of how devastated he was when he heard the news of the death of Tongai Moyo at the weekend. Macheso, who is viewed by many sungura music lovers as the arch rival to the late Moyo, said he first learnt of the death when he was on tour in Chiredzi. "We had three shows lined up at the weekend in Chiredzi as well as Jerera and minutes before going on stage in Chiredzi that's when we got a phone call from Shiga Shiga that he (Tongai) had passed on."It took time to sink and I was totally devastated didn't know what to do," he said. "At one point I could tell that I was not composed on stage and the news of the death took the better of me," he said. But Macheso or simply Extrabasso to many of his fans, said he had to rush back to Sesombe to attend Moyo's burial.

Speculation was rife at the funeral that Extrabasso would not turn up at the burial since the two were purportedly "arch rivals" in the music circles. However, Extrabasso poured water on the reports by showing up just in time for the burial.

"Ndirikukahadzika kuti chokwadi ndizvo zvinoiita hupenyu here, inga denga harima manyanisi. I am still in state of shock and trying to come to terms with death," he sobbed. He said he learnt how special life was from the death of Dhewa saying God was in control of everything that we do in life. "You see no one has control over God and I think there one thing I learnt about death is that we have to make the most out of our lives," he said.There were some murmerings among mourners at the funeral when Extrabasso appeared, accompanied by his manager William Tsandukwa, Jethro Machanja, assistant manager and dancer-cum-chanter - Jonas Kasamba, .

"VanaMacheso munongoti zora butter, zora butter hatichada, wanga uripi?" a female fan said. But Extrabasso remained unperturbed and the masters of ceremonies called him to the front where he eventually led in song. His daughter and socialite Sharon was among other mourners including show promoters, musicians and fans. Extrabasso's appearance at the funeral showed that the supposed "beef" between the two was not only blown out of proportion but also a creation of the media. (Herald)