Martin Muleya
MUTARE-On April 01 2019, Zimbabwe’s music industry lost a giant, Tedious ‘Muchapedza’ Matsito, a gentle soul and member of the legendary Ngwenya Brothers.
Born in Nyamaropa, Nyanga, Tedious was one of over 90 kids in a large family. It meant they had to fend for themselves from a young age.
Their father Paul Matsito had 15 wives.
Tedius and his brothers Mike, Jabu and Domingo formed the iconic Sungura group Ngwenya Brothers.
Their journey began in Mazowe where they worked as gardeners and played music on the side. It was a group of four brothers namely Albert, Jabulani, Tedious and Michael. They grew up moving between Nyanga and Chipinge. But being from such a large poor family, they knew they had to leave Manicaland and find work elsewhere.
Albert Matsito left to find work as a carpenter at Glenara Estates, Mazowe. The estate (then owned by agro-processor CFI) was growing and needed more labour.
Albert later brought his three brothers to Mazowe, where they too found work at the farm.
From the make-shift guitars that Albert fashioned from the wood chop-offs at his workshops, one of Zimbabwe’s finest Sungura outfit was born. Soon the Matsito boys were roaming the Mazowe farms in their spare time, playing for a small fee.
Tedious’s ambition led him to Harare, settling in Dzivarasekwa, Harare, where he connected with Shepherd Chinyani, a Sungura legend.
Having failed to immediately break into the music industry, he got employed as a gardener in Marlborough. Mike and Jabu soon joined him in Harare, where they also worked as gardeners. Albert chose to stay behind. It is said Albert was hugely talented but hated the stage.
In 1990 while all the three brothers were still gardeners they recorded their first single, Zuvaguru. The song was a monumental flop.
The boys gave up- but only for a year. With Chinyani’s help, they worked harder at refining their art. Two years after their initial attempt failed, Ngwenya Brothers came back and tried again. This time they hit the mark, where they recorded the album Nyaradzo Pure fire.
Nyaradzo remains one of Sungura’s finest releases-ever produced by the legendary Tymon Mabaleka.
In 1993 while Nyaradzo was still hot, Ngwenya Brothers dropped another album. It seemed like a marketing mistake as the new album was not noticed. People were still busy enjoying Rudo Inzira and Nyaradzo.
Ngwenya Brothers’ second album, Chakanaka Chakanaka was an even bigger hit. Apart from the blazing hot title track, there was also this song called Madiro.
The Ngwenya sound was fresh, an edgier rejoinder to the more conservative strains of Leonard Dembo, who was the king then, and rhumba, popular at the time. Tedious on the lead, Mike on rhythm and Jabu on bass. His vocals were crisp, and that Manyika accent added to the novelty.
At the height of their popularity, Mike Matsito left to form Ngwenya Young Brothers. He joined up with Noel Nyazanda, one of the best in the business. He had written Rudo Inzira, so he probably felt he had what it takes to be a famous musician. This did not last so he rejoined his brothers.
In 2006, Jabu Matsito, bassman passed on. More misfortune was to follow the family and the band. Ngwenya Brothers were massively popular in Mozambique and they often performed there. On their way back from touring Mozambique in 2008, their commuter omnibus had a bad accident. Domingo, another Matsito boy who had replaced Jabu, died in that crash, Mike also passed on, while Tedious was seriously injured.
In 2012, Tedious’s damaged leg developed gangrene. He was later amputated and the gigs dried up, resulting in him venturing into fixing generators as a source of income. Four years later, on a tour in South Africa, Tedious suffered a stroke. He had to cancel shows and the following year, he was hit by another stroke that left him with slurred speech.
After his strokes, doctors recommended that he needed physiotherapy sessions at least twice a week. He could not afford the fees and had to skip many sessions.
He literally struggled to recover, and was the last of the Ngwenya Brothers band; they are all gone now. But their music lives on!
On many radio stations during yesteryear shows, it would not be enough without playing the Ngwenya Brothers.
