I am national hero’s son: Tambaoga

By Vasco Chaya

Controversial musician Last “Tambaoga” Chiangwa, 46, has made a sensational claim that his father was a respected national hero interred at the National Heroes Acre in Harare.

Tambaoga whose land reform jingles Rambai Makashinga and Sendekera dominated air waves in the run-up to the 2002 elections, told the Daily News on Sunday that he is “a love child of a respected national hero that I won’t identify for now.”

“Ini ndiri mwana wemurwi wehondo mukuru ndakakura ndichitoyemurawo mabasa ake asi ndisingatozivi kuti ndivo baba vangu. (I grew up admiring this national hero’s works and history without knowing that he was my biological father). I only knew of it after my mother who died while I was still a child revealed it to me through a dream,” Chiangwa said.

Born in Chinhoyi on May 14, 1972, the Agirimende singer who then grew up in Chitungwiza said he is not a descendant of the Chiangwa clan whose surname he has used to date.

“My ancestors are pushing me to reunite with the rest of my real clan. As a result I am encountering a lot of misfortunes in my life. Can you imagine that I do not have a national identity card or passport here?

“Each time I try to acquire one, it will get lost in unclear circumstances because my ancestors do not want me to belong to strangers,” he said.

Tambaoga was reluctant to reveal his “real” father whom he claims is entombed at the national shrine.

“I cannot reveal that as of now as part of my father’s family is still to be notified. What I can say is that my father was killed in unclear circumstances and it pained me a lot,” he said.

The heroes buried at the national shrine include Josiah Tongogara, Hebert Chitepo, Joshua Nkomo, Solomon Mujuru, Joseph Msika, Simon Muzenda, Sikwili Kohli Moyo, Vitalis Zvinavashe, Chenjerai Hunzvi, Border Gezi, Robson Manyika, Josiah Chinamano, Maurice Nyagumbo, Bernard Chidzero, Elliot Manyika, Mernard Muzariri and Armstrong Gunda among others.

Meanwhile, Tambaoga who recently told our sister paper Daily News that he only got $200 from his popular jingles Rambai Makashinga and Agirimende, appears to have drifted away from pro-ruling party lyrics.

His 2010 album called Mudungwe which contains tracks that attack the excesses of politicians. One such track is Huori which hits out at rampant corruption in the country.

Other tracks on the album are Tsemura, Chigara Mapfihwa, Matepatepa, Mudungwe, Vanoramba, Vasindinyepera and Zvangu.

It is not surprising that Tambaoga is trying his best to distance his music from the ruling party which he believes exploited him at the height of the land reform.

“I know the majority of Zimbabweans believe that I realised a lot of money from the popular jingles and songs but the truth is that I only got less than $200 from that project.

“The money I got from Rambai Makashinga project was not even enough to send my two children to school. It was not just enough and for that reason I urge the new dispensation led by President Emmerson Mnangagwa to respect and take artistes’ work seriously,” said Tambaoga, who could not be drawn into revealing who gave him the $200.

Tambaoga insisted during the interview with the Daily News that people should not misconstrue him for a politician because of the messages in his Third Chimurenga jingles and songs.

“When I released songs such as Rambai Makashinga and Agirimende, I never meant to make enemies but I later realised that I had made a lot of enemies and few friends in the country. People fail to realise that musicians are just message conveyers or simply messengers,” he said.  DailyNews