Macheso, Extra Kwazvose on warpath

By Tawanda Marwizi

Sungura group Extra Kwazvose has accused Alick Macheso of fanning divisions in their outfit following the departure of two members Tito Vhinyo and Tafadzwa Gwanzura.

Vhinyo, who was their second lead guitarist, and Gwanzura their lead dancer left the group after they failed to get loans from the band and Macheso allegedly came to the rescue of Vhinyo, which has angered Extra Kwazvose leaders.

Sources said Vhinyo wanted a $500 loan from the management to solve his domestic problems but failed to get the money.

“He wanted $500 to solve his issues but they told him that he would get it after the weekend shows, leading to his departure,” said the source.

One of the leaders of the group, Franco Slomo accused his former boss Alick Macheso for being behind the fallout.

“We wanted to assist him (Tito) but he failed to understand that last week we had no money but we are receiving reports that Macheso gave him the money through one of his guitarists Francis Poto,” said Slomo.

Tito confirmed the latest development but denied any links with Macheso.

“Macheso is not the one who gave me the money and when I left Kwazvose, I told these guys that I was looking for formal employment for a while before I ponder my next move,” he said.

However, Franco, who is also believed to be close to Vhinyo insisted that he was given the money by Macheso.

“It’s only that they have agreed that the guitarist takes a short break after departure from Extra Kwazvose and then join Macheso later. They do not want to make the move obvious,” he said.

A source from the camp said Franco and Vhinyo are very close, adding the allegations could be true.

“They are close friends and chances that Franco knows what’s going on are high,” said the source.

Macheso’s manager, William Tsandukwa was evasive on the issue saying he was tired of calls from people asking about the issue since early this week.

“I have been called by our fans about that issue.

“Who is Tito? If it was Noel (Nyazanda) who is Extra Kwazvose’s lead guitarist, it could have been better.

“That one (Vhinyo) is not known in the music industry,” he said.

Tsandukwa said they would not hire any guitarist because they were struggling to keep their current band.

“I think this is a marketing gimmick from these guys because we are struggling to keep our band and how can they say we gave him money,” he said.

Extra Kwazvose is a sungura group that was formed last year after Obert Gomba, Nyazanda, Jonasi Kasamba deserted Macheso and combined forces with Franco who formerly worked for Macheso.

The group released their second album recently “Zvepasirino”, which is receiving fair airplay. The Herald