MUTARE – Talented singer, composer and keyboard player Jamal Nyika Mataure who collaborated with urban grooves songstress Betty Makaya to produce the smash hit song ‘Kurwizi’ died on Wednesday in the afternoon at his Dangamvura home in Mutare.
According to reports a seriously ill Jamal was bed ridden and could neither walk nor talk for more than a year in which he was under the home based care of his loving mother Ruth. In August this year Jamal’s mother confirmed that her son suffered from motor neuron disease from last year to date.
Motor neuron diseases are a group of progressive neurological disorders that destroy motor neurons – the cells that control essential voluntary muscle activity suck as speaking, walking, breathing and swallowing.
Jamal’s famous album Ghetto, released in 2003 features the blockbuster Kurwizi which many mistakenly attributed to Betty Makaya. In one of his last ever interviews Jamal was quoted saying:
“I have been staying in Mozambique for the past six years but I came back when my health started deteriorating,” he said in a faint voice. “I used to be a heavy drinker and always used drugs. Many people knew I was an addict and I am sure that is the major cause of my illness now,” he confessed.
“Please don’t write negative things about me because this is my private life,” he said forcing smile.
“Being a star does not necessarily mean that I do not encounter problems. I deserve a life and I am not a supernatural being. My health problem is not the sole reason I have been silent; I got fed up with the music industry when I discovered it was not rewarding.
“Even though I worked hard on a number of projects during the new millennium, appreciation for this new genre — urban grooves music that had just emerged — was simply not there.
“Disappointed and depressed by this state of affairs, I decided to return to Mutare but ended up in Mozambique,” said Jamal.
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