Mumiriki slams Macheso, promoters

HARARE – Former Orchestra Mberikwazvo guitarist, Lucky Mumiriki, is a bitter man and will not be returning to the stage despite a tremendous improvement in fitness following a health complication.

Mumiriki suffered a stroke in 2011 while playing for his group, Orchestra Mberikwazvo, in the capital.

And since then, he has not set foot on stage and is likely not going to do so again in this lifetime, at least according to the guitarist. The beleaguered rhythm guitarist feels his former boss, Alick Macheso, workmates and promoters that he worked with since 2002 have been unfair to him.

He is currently surviving from hand-to-mouth with no “stable” source of income.

However, his bitterness stems not only from that he is not getting any form of assistance from his former boss but from total neglect.

The talented guitarist poured his heart out in an interview with this publication last week at his home in Chitungwiza.

Also present during the interview was sungura musician First Farai, who made it possible for us to locate the guitarist.

“I’m going to be frank, chances of me getting back on stage are very slim or should I say next to none despite an improvement in my health. I no longer have that wish and focus in my life. Should I return to full fitness, I will look for something else to do outside music,” he said.

Such words coming from a recovering man, who can now play the guitar again, lift a full 20-litre container and picks up his child from school, painted a gloomy picture.

And Mumiriki’s face summed it all up.

It said a thousand words despite him trying to cover it up.

One could easily notice that the soft spoken guitarist was inside working overtime to refine words that he delivered to us. He only chose the light ones.

Those that only made it possible for us to understand that he feels betrayed but without doing much damage.

He said the stroke that he experienced gave him a new view to life.

Thus, he realised that some people he regarded as friends and family were only interested in his talent and exploiting it.

“Macheso used to assist me with medical bills and food but it’s now more than two years without us meeting. In fact, the last time we met was by accident. I had gone for my physiotherapy at the medical centre and he had visited the place with a relative,” explained Mumiriki.

The guitarist revealed that not even a single member of Macheso’s Orchestra Mberikwazvo, promoters or any other colleague in the music business has visited him in the period in question.

Surprisingly, it is the people that he met when he suffered the stroke that have become close to him.

“I have realised that you automatically become an outcast when you are no longer working. People will lose interest in you.

“They are not coming to my house. I guess the promoters are only interested in the band leaders and not the band members,” said Mumiriki.

The isolation has led the guitarist to do some soul searching.

He has mended relations with his creator and is now a serious worshipper.

He attends the Seventh Day Adventist and never misses service.

“God still has plans with my life. And I’m now working for him, spreading his word to those that are not aware of his existence.

“I can see and appreciate his hand in my life and the mercy that he has shown me. Some people who faced a predicament similar to mine did not make it,” said Mumiriki.

“I believe this challenge I’m going through happened for a reason. Everything happens for a reason in life most of which we will never know.”

Hence, he said he did not regret the time he spent in the music industry.

A senior Orchestra Mberikwazvo band member, who spoke to this publication, said he was embarrassed.

He confirmed that little had been done to assist Mumiriki.

“To be honest I feel bad my brother. We have neglected our colleague. I personally last saw him around 2012 and I don’t think others have been visiting him.

“I shudder to think what will happen to me if I get into that situation,” said the band member who cannot be named.

Mumiriki is married and blessed with three girls.

The eldest one aged 17 is in high school while the other two are still in primary school. He embarked on his music journey in 1988.

Before Orchestra Mberikwazvo, he worked with Hurungwe Sounds, Sungura Boys led by Ephraim Joe and Chazezesa Challengers fronted by System Tazvida.

His last input on Macheso’s studio work was on “Zvinoda Kutendwa”.

The 46-year-old is the second born in a family of eight and comes from Hurungwe, Karuru. The Sunday Mail