Dhewa refuses to let illness slow him down

In October 2007, Dhewa was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins lymphoma cancer. Many thought that he had AIDS. Besides his illness, he has lost cars, instruments and other valuables in at least four accidents in the last seven years – prompting people to believe that he is being punished for leaving his ailing father to die while embarking on a United Kingdom musical tour in 2003.

But despite his ill health, he has not slowed down on the number of shows he is staging, not only in Zimbabwe but also in the region.

I have been working in the medical field for 13 years at Kwekwe Hospital, so I have a bit of some knowledge about my ailment. I am now keeping an eye on my shows as well as my health. I take a break for a week to undergo treatment and take time to recover,” said Dhewa.

Now I have gotten used to the illness and I believe there is no need to quit. I have been in and out of hospital receiving special treatment. I am now picking up and I am raring to go.

I have slowed down on my stage acts, but I will be concentrating more on composing my music. I have recruited the dancing guys who would be taking the dancing business on the stage. So I will not be wasting more energy on dancing. It does not mean that I have abandoned dancing completely, I will dance at some intervals, he added.

At one time, Dhewa used to wear a cap due to hair loss caused by the cancer illness and he visibly lost weight, prompting people to think that he had AIDS. Some news organization wrote stories that Dehwa was on antiretroviral drugs (ARVs).

I do not have AIDS. I know its hard for some people to believe you when they do not see your results. I want the people to know that I have cancer. I am ready to take a televised HIV test, said Dhewa in response to the media reports.

If I have AIDS there is no need for me to go through chemotherapy. If a person who has AIDS does undergo chemotherapy he/she will die. Any medical doctor will tell you that chemotherapy and AIDS do not mix, said Dhewa.

I last went for an HIV test on 24 January 2010 and the results were negative, he explained.

Despite the illness, Dehwa said his fans and the support from other concerned people had kept him going.

My fans have been on my side during the days when cancer was eating me. At least that gave me hope and strength to soldier on. I will keep on playing music until I die. I am not going to look back despite my condition, he said.

Meanwhile, Dehwa has vehemently expelled talk that the spate of accidents involving his cars over the last seven years are related to his trip to the UK while his father lay dying in July 2003.

This follows the fatal accident last year involving his new Mazda BT50, which he got from his recording company Gramma in August 2008.

Since his father’s death on July 31, 2003, Dehwa has lost cars, instruments and other valuables in at least four accidents. In another accident about three years ago, Moyo lost electric guitars, uniforms and cash when his kombi went up in smoke while the band was returning from a show in Chipinge.

Mutare prominent businessman, politician and music promoter Esau Mupfumi then donated a kombi to him. Some sections of the music industry said Dehwa was being “punished” for leaving his ailing father on his deathbed while embarking on a maiden UK tour.

I do not share that belief. I am not a believer in African tradition. Only God has the answers. That’s why they are called accidents. At times you can’t avoid them because God might have planned your life that way. At this point in time, I am looking to the heavens. But I am very much aware that people who believe in African tradition and Christianity have their different views,” he said.

Dhewa says he is now a subject of discussion in most pubs and homes because he is a public figure.

“Over the years, we have had artistes being involved in accidents and I had never heard people saying that there is a bad omen save for me only. If my memory serves me right, Zexie Manatsa had an accident several years ago which destroyed his equipment and the same goes for Nicholas Zakaria, Tedius Matsito and Progress Chipfumo and no one said there is a bad omen, which some people might want to say on my side.

“When my father died during my UK tour, people said a lot of stuff, but my father actually blessed my tour, saying he would recover from the cancer. But he died while I was away because his time had come,” he said.

Dhewa is currently working on a new album but would not say when it will be released. Some of the songs are already popular with the show goers.

INFORMATION

NAME: Tongai Moyo

FIRST ALBUM: VIMBO (1996)

Tongai Moyo has endeared himself to fans through his popular sungura sound. Moyo played in numerous bands. He gained his musical education in his hometown, eventually joining Shirichena Jazz Band as a session musician, helping to release two albums (1991’s Ndoita Zvangu Ndoga, 1992’s Wandibhowa) and a single. Moyo continued his band hopping, playing in other Kwekwe acts such as Shirinhema, before heading out on his own.

Moyo compiled his own band, Utakataka Express, and in 1996 released his first solo album, Vimbo, which eventually sold over 100 000 copies (according to the artist.)