Mpundu Mutale: A sad end to 'Tata' Africa (obituary)

This entry is about: Zambia

By KELVIN KACHINGWE

THIS is no way to end an illustrious career.

That a receipient of the Presidents Insignia of Honour, who was so honoured for the essential role that he played during the freedom struggle, should spend his final years as a pauper is highly embarrassing.

For a man who moved the entire nation, and indeed dignitaries in particular, with his emotional performances of his all-time great, Afrika My Afrika during African Freedom Day and Indepdence Day commemorations at State House, he surely deserved a little more than he got in the evening of his life.

Mpundu Mutale, who passed on to the Other Side of Town at the age of 71 after losing his battle against Diabetes in the University Teaching Hospital, for all that he represented, does pass as a perfect example of how not a nation should treat its heroes.

So desperate was his situation that he was literally begging, much the same street kids do, for assistance. Only in his case, for resources to enable him undergo for specialist treatment in South Africa.

Mutale, who addmitted to the Intensive Care Unit at the UTH, said from his hospital bed a few months ago that he felt time was running out for him as the situation was getting worse.

"I have been calling for help for a very long time but even the little help has come very late but if resources could be made available, I wouldn't mind going to South Africa," Mutale said.

Indeed the cry for assistance started a long-time ago for Mpundu Mutale, who was a prominent feature at celebrations at State House. But so say he need resources for specialist treatment is not to tell the exact truth. Truth of the matter is that he needed more than that. Other than resources to enable him release audio and video tapes of Afrika My Afrika, he also needed money for his upkeep. His abode in Chibolya, which this writer visited in 2004 was a sorry sight. It did not look much different from a stable at a pony club. His appearance was that of a dishevelled old man in crumpled clothes, hair matted, lips cracking and a tatty shirt, an inferior defence against the cold.

While there, he narrated how he needed money to undergo treatment and just to stay alive.

"I feel my life is falling apart. Misfortunes are happening in quick succession. First it was diabetes, now i'm too broke to support myself and to have my music and film on the market," he said.

The six-foot tall Mpundu, with a greying beard, was living alone in a makeshift home just behind Lusaka's Soweto market. At one point, he was unable to walk because of diabetes which has caused his feet to swell. The toes on both feet were turning a greenish colour and amputation would have probably been an option had he managed to go to South Africa for specialist treatment.

In Chibolya, he would go for days without a meal. Most of the time, it was his neighbour, a Mrs Liness Bnda, who used to help the artiste from time-to-time.

In explaining Mr Mutale's predicament, Mrs Banda called on the government and other well-wishers to come to his aid. She said it was shameful for the man who had contributed so much to the struggle for independence both musically and physically to be in such a state.

"The man has something to teach Zambians through his music and the videos depicting the struggle for independence," she said while further explaning that at one time, the old man had collapsed in his house and was only discovered after neighbours saw his legs protruding from the door of his home.

Mr Mutale, who was born on September 30, 1935, was divorced though he had a family in Kasama which, however, was unable to support him financially. A number of his children had passed on.

In his early years, he was a UNIP activist in Kasama during the struggle for independence and was heavily involved in the civil disobedience campaign that was directed against the colonialists.

His cousin, Martin Mwamba, who was also an activist, was murdered after being brutally beaten by the Northern Rhodesia police when he refused to disclose the whereabouts of UNIP stalwarts.

It was actually that, and the other injustices that were done against the blacks by the colonialists that led him to compose songs like Afrika My Afrika and When Afrika was in the Dark.

It was because of the contribution Mr Mutale made to the country that the Times of Zambia, in a feature article headlined The sorry sight of Mpundu Mutale, dated July 17, 1994, appealed to well-wishers to come to his aid before it is too late.

Humbly enough, even his poor health, he still wanted to complete the adio and video tapes of the Afrika My Afrika.

At the height of his illness and dire financial need, he wrote a letter to the Sunday Times of Zambia in which he appealed to well-wishers, charitable organisations and individuals to enable him complete the music projects.

"The short clip of the promo film Afrika My Afrika is now ready and has been showing on ZNBC for five months now. I'm promising my fans that I would release the complete version of the film on the market as soon as I start receiving contributions for the venture.

"I would like to point out that the film has taken long to release because of unseen circumstances mostly to do with funding for the project," reads the letter dated April 25, 2004.

The audio tape and CD of Afrika My Afrika Volume I was to have 10 songs. There was also a chi-Bemba version of Afrika Mayo Afrika also with 10 tracks. The album was also to have have an instrumental version of Afrika My Afrika poems.

"I would again like to express my personal feelings about Africa by highlighting both in songs and pictures how the continent was depopulated and underdeveloped by slavery and colonialism. The history which African people cannot forget should make people learn a lot from this noble and educative historical project on their past," Mr Mutale wrote in his letter.

Unfortunately however, no tangible help came. On the contrary, his health continued to deteriorate resulting in his death at the UTH last Tuesday.

But before that, Brian Chengala Shakarongo, a former Zambia Association of Musicians (ZAM) chairman organised a concert in aid of the ailing Mutale last December.

The concert, held at UNZA, was however shunned by the artistes except for James "Chamanyazi" Ngoma and Cha (Charity Mwiinga) and the Muvi Posse crew.

But true to form, there will be sustained chorus of praise for the man, who while in life, was neglected by his own society. On a positive note though, credit should go to Mama Chibesa Kankasa for hosting the funeral of Mpundu Mutale at Kabulonga House near Friday's Corner out of solidarity despite the fact that they are not related.

Otherwise, this is a moment for the nation to reflect on how it treats its own heroes.

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