HARARE – Ntombizodwa Mangota, the wife of the late musician Dickson “Cde Chinx” Chingaira, has said that she has struggled to make ends meet in the last few years, after family disputes meant she and her children walked away with nothing after his death.
Mangota, who was a dancer and backing vocalist in Chinx’s Barrel of Peace band, was the late musician’s second wife in a polygamous marriage.
While things might have been rosy when the musician was still alive, as she lived side by side with his first wife, Patricia Makoni, everything soured after his death.
“It was a heavy loss for us,” she told Sunday Mail. “We had just acquired a new house in Sentosa, where I had settled well with my sweetheart and amaiguru (Patricia Makoni). We were a well-known couple wherever we went together,” she recounted.
“Our polygamous marriage was famous, and I do not regret a single moment with my late husband, who married me when I was very young. We were the perfect definition of what people now call lovebirds because we truly loved each other.”
Mangota said she had decided to leave the home in Sentosa when she realised she was not wanted. After her departure, her children had expressed their heartbreak at being excluded from their father’s inheritance.
“I do not regret it because I felt unwanted and there was no way I could stay when I realised there was nothing I could provide for my young children.”
She continued: “At one point, my children asked me if Cde Chinx was genuinely their father since they inherited nothing,” she recalled.
“I keep giving them strength and they are growing. One of them is now 27 and the other is 19. I had my own child before I married Cde Chinx and that child is now 33.”
Mangota acknowledged that she missed Makoni, who she regarded as a sister.
“I will always miss her because we consulted each other on everything. We were an exemplary polygamous family, although things turned sour after my husband’s death.
“I have struggled to make ends meet since then, but I am glad I have opened up about what I went through. I believe I can help other widows in similar situations,” added Mangota.
The musician, who is now a budding farmer, said she was gradually getting to her feet.
“For your information, I took a huge gamble when I retired and decided to work hard for my children. The only challenge I have now is of inputs although I still do farming.
“However, I am a proud widow who, despite working hard during my marriage and leaving empty-handed, has defied the odds.”
