HARARE – The president of Zimbabwe Emmerson Mnangagwa has praised the late Oliver Mtukudzi as a true patriot.
In his condolence message on his official Twitter handle, Mnangagwa said the country had said: “goodbye to a true patriot.”
He commended the musical icon for his voice and comforting message re-laid in his music. “Oliver Mtukudzi, your voice has given us comfort through difficult times, and will remain with us for posterity, ” he added.
Also, nicknamed Tuku after his music, Mtukudzi died on Wednesday 23 at the age of 66 after fighting for his life for almost a month.
A tweet by the Zimbabwean publication Masvingo Mirror revealed that the legend breathed his last at Avenues Clinic in Harare.
The legend was in preparations of releasing his sixty-seventh album having launched over forty hit- albums. He is well known for singing Shona and English which are the dominant languages in the country.
Kenya leader of opposition, Raila Odinga centered his message around Oliver’s song ‘Todi’ saying “your question rendered in lyrics, What Shall We Do”.
He assured the music guru that although the answer to his question is not found “Africa and the World are struggling with it as we accept the finality of your death “.
Some of his hits that will take longer to be forgotten include Todi famously known as ‘what shall we do’ and ‘Wasakara’ meaning “you are too old”, which was banned by former President Robert Gabriel Mugabe.
By the time of his death, he has been a businessman, a human rights activist and a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for the Southern Africa region.
