Clive Malunga

WITH UNITY OF PURPOSE AND HARD WORK, THE SKY IS THE LIMIT FOR JSK CHIBADURA AND TEMBO BROTHERS.

One balmy sunny morning, at the height of Zimbabwe’s fuel crisis, I took my place on a long fuel queue at one petrol station in Harare. Incidentally, a man who was in the same queue, waiting for his turn to be served came and introduced himself to me as Mr. Michael Andsen. 

Mr. Andsen asked me whether I was aware that the three sons of the late John Chibadura were staying in Domboshava with their mother Amaiguru Neria Chibadura. He told me about how difficult it was for the Chibadura sons to establish themselves in Zimbabwe’s music industry. The three boys had decided to revive the Tembo Brothers’ band. He told me that John Junior was the new Tembo Brothers’ lead guitarist, Simba the lead vocalist and Knowledge was on backing vocals and percussion. Mr. Andsen, a die-hard fan of the late John Chibadura, had been assisting the boys to perform around Domboshava by providing funds for transport, hire of instruments and posters.

Mr. Andsen’s narration of the boys’ plight touched my heart. It reminded me of my past relationship with the late sungura master. I still cherish all the good moments I shared with the late Mr. Chitungwiza during his prime days. I used to meet Mukoma John regularly at Queens Garden Hotel. He knew my difficult situation and he would buy me food without asking whether I was hungry or not. At times he would give me money which would last me a month or so. He felt sorry for me during my difficult times.  Those were hard times indeed!

 I told Mr. Michael Andsen that on his return to Domboshava, he must tell the Chibadura family that I was waiting for their phone call. I had made up my mind to assist the young Chibaduras at any cost. It was my turn to pay back for the love and care I received from their late father.  It was my turn to support the three aspiring musicians to restore the Chibadura legacy.

Mr. Andsen faithfully carried the message to the Chibadura family and I received a call from Simba. I invited the boys to Jenaguru Arts Centre so that we could talk face to face. I had last seen them at their Chitungwiza home when they were very young. When they arrived at Jenaguru Arts Centre, I had to introduce myself to them. I told them about the support I received from their late father.

I used to frequent their Chitungwiza house during the 90s when my life’s graph had started rising. I used to sell musical gadgets and combos.  I had started organising Jenaguru Arts Centre, so many well-wishers were sending second-hand musical instruments from Japan. My first port-of-call was always Mukoma John. I also told Simba, Knowledge and John about how their father stood with me when I started organising the Jenaguru Festivals.  At the 1992 concert at Harare Gardens, Mukoma John was one of the main attractions. John came to the show, did his wonderful dances with Manyowa and indeed stole the show.   He had supported me when I had no penny and now he was again supporting me when I had started climbing the ladder.  He was always there when I needed him most. I took time to explain to the Chibadura brothers my relationship with their father. I promised to assist them in their quest for music stardom with music recording, video production and advertising.

Our first studio booking was at Trutone Studio. We recorded two songs; Vana Vangu and Ndinoda Iwewe but we were not satisfied with the quality of the studio production. We paid for the two songs and proceeded to Red-Diamond to re-record the same songs. They were charging US$15 per hour. I offered to pay US$50 per hour as long as they would allow me to dictate the pace of the music production. I am very particular about the quality of a music production. I prefer to be in and out of the studio 20 to 50 times until I feel that the music is ready for consumption

Our first single Vana Vangu became a huge success.  It was on all billboards challenging for the first position. The song Vana Vangu was number 1 on Radio Zimbabwe, National FM, ZTV and it is trending magnificently on social platforms.   We thank the fans for supporting and encouraging John, Knowledge and Simba popularly known as JSK Chibadura and Tembo Brothers.  We also thank the media for their unwavering support.

 The six track album is now complete and we are now recording and producing it at our state-of-the-art Jenaguru Music Studio. I worked with Gart Studio to record four of the songs. By the end of July 2022, the album is going to be officially launched. 

Managing a musical group requires patience, energy, vision, strategy and financial resources. On Vana Vangu Video we spent more than US$2500. We have devised the name of our music genre as mbingura, which means a fusion of mbira and sungura music: mbi- from mbira and –ngura from sungura. I added mbira, ngoma, hosho, semi-acoustic guitar and chipendani to sungura to make the flavour truly Zimbabwean. We eye for the international market, a market already established in South Korea and Japan. It’s time we should start exposing many musical groups overseas for the benefit of our music industry and Zimbabwe in general.

I am looking forward to seeing JSK Chibadura and Tembo Brothers reestablishing themselves in Chitungwiza by buying or building a property there.  I pray that they restore their father’s legacy or even surpass it. We are busy planning the JSK Chibadura and Tembo Brothers ‘Live in Concert’ scheduled for early August. This will coincide with commemorations to mark the death of Mukoma Chibadura who died on 4 August 1999. We are also planning to have a facelift of the grave site.

The Tembo Brothers must work hard, develop team spirit and listen to some feasible requirements of their fans. They must always aim to be a good example to society. They must persevere until the right moment arrives. If they exercise patience, maintain unity and stay focused, success will surely come.