[Radio VoP] Even in grief, thousands of Zimbabweans gathered for the burial of Susan Tsvangirai in Buhera on Wednesday (11 March 2009) managed to enjoy a moment of celebrity spotting when singer Tongai Moyo stole the show after arriving late at the burial. Delighted fans mobbed the smartly dressed Sungura star as he walked up to the funeral venue.

^ Tongai Moyo performs at the NAMA Awards earlier this year (fungaifoto).

Clad in a black striped suit, white shirt and sky blue leather shoes, Moyo, who had two bodyguards in tow, announced his arrival at the funeral wake in grand style.

He alighted from a white Madza BT-50 truck a kilometre from the Tsvangirai homestead where the formal proceedings had already started.

For that stretch, a smiling Moyo was mobbed by admiring fans as he struggled to navigate his way towards the main tent where Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and other VIPs were sitting.

Theresa Makone, chair of the MDC’s Women’s Assembly and Susan Tsvangirai’s friend was speaking at the time.

But she was cut midstream by the huge chorus of “Dhewa, Dhewa, Dhewa” as Moyo walked through the crowd.

Nelson Chamisa, the MDC, tried to calm down the mourners but without much success. In the meantime Ian Makone, Theresa’s husband, was jerked off his seat to rescue his wife from the embarrassment.

Makone walked towards the crowd to usher Moyo, who had seated himself among the throng, to the high table.

Chamisa tried to explain that the programme had to continue in the best interests of time but the crowd would not have it, demanding that Moyo be formally recognised.

“The more he tried to discipline the crowd, the more the “Dhewa” cries grew louder,” reported the privately-owned radio station on its website.

It added: “Chamisa was left with no option but to invite Moyo to the podium to allow him to personally pass his condolences to the Prime Minister. Moyo grabbed the opportunity with both hands waving the open hand palm, a symbol of the MDC as he knelt down before the Prime Minister to a wild applause from the crowd.”

Still, the crowd was not satisfied. They demanded that he be given time to speak.

Again, Chamisa found himself having to call Moyo onto the podium and formally introduced him to the crowd.

“We are happy to have with us hear Dhewa, he has come to join us to mourn our mother and I am sure he is doing so on behalf of many other musicians such as Suluman Chimbetu, Alick Macheso and Oliver Mtukudzi who could not be hear with us today,” said Chamisa.

It was only after this acknowledgment that the Dhewa cries died down to allow the funeral proceedings to continue.

Moyo told RadioVoP that he had travelled to Buhera just like many other Zimbabweans to be with the Prime Minister and help him cope with the loss of his wife of 30 years.

“I came to be with the rest of Zimbabweans in mourning the Prime Minister’s wife and pass my condolences and say sorry to the Prime Minister and his family. I did so in my own capacity,” said Moyo.

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Phio   |2009-03-16 01:58:40 The high cost of celebrity. Reply 0   0

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