Obituary Chief Sinazongwe RIP

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Created: Wednesday, 16 January 2019 14:18

It is with great sorrow that we received the sad news of Chief Sinazongwe's passing away on
December 26th. We will miss him after coming to know and work with him since 2004.

We remember fondly our first encounter with His Excellency on the Zimbabwean side of the River
Mulonga in Siachilaba and Siansundu when he was leading a strong Budima group to join Simonga
group from Siachilaba in the celebration of the opening of two computer labs at the relevant schools
(see the picture below). Their performances highlighted the fact that Tonga music as the traditional
way to communicate values and vision has nowadays been complemented by modern tools of
communication.

At this splendid occasion we took up the invitation by Chief Sinazongwe to visit him across the
Lake on the Zambian shores of Lake Kariba. In due course we agreed to support the establishment
of a computer center at Sinazongwe Basic School becoming reality in 2006 and the Community
radio station Zongwe FM in 2007. Both developments were facilitated by full backing of the Chief.

In 2009 Chief Sinazongwe led a joint ensemble of Maliko and Simonga musical groups on a
journey to Austria to take part at the Parade, one of the highlights of Linz09, by then the CulturalCapital of Europe. It was proof how the tune of Budima merged easily with sounds from different
parts of the globe. And how cultural exchange is building bridges and opening up new horizons.

We wish you all strength in coping with this tragic loss. We are confident that the best way of
paying tribute to his legacy, is to keep the good work for the benefit of the community going.
We hope that his work will be taken up by his successor and the younger generation. May his soul
rest in peace!

We offer our sincerest condolences to all of you and assure you of our continued support and
collaboration, especially in the forthcoming relocation of the Zongwe FM radio station to higher
grounds.

Peter Kuthan, on behalf of AZFA / Austria-Zimbabwe Friendship Association
based in Linz / Austria
Linz, 31st December 2018