Foster Mkweu: Uncrowned Dendera music superstar
AT 63, he doesn’t show any signs of wearing off.
Unlike most of his peers who look way older than their ages, he has not changed an inch.
He remains grateful to the Maker for blessing him with rare genes that keep him younger.
Those who know him better, say he still maintains the same stature, passion and talent he had at the peak of the mighty Marxist Brothers in the early 1980s.
A passionate Dendera genre co-creator, many would easily dismiss him as an attention-seeker.
He insists the Dendera music story would be incomplete without his chapter, although many give him peripheral recognition.
The late Simon “Chopper” Chimbetu would become the face of Dendera.
Despite being “elbowed” out later, he effortlessly served both the Marxist Brothers co-founders Simon and Naison each time the Dendera nest caught fire. He even gave Naison a roof when he relocated to Harare from Selous, known as Seruwe.
When Chopper was caged in the 1990s for car theft, he had the mojo to stand in for the incarcerated crooner.
He showed courage when he fulfilled one of the Orchestra Dendera Kings’ booked shows in Mozambique when Chopper was in jail.
His bosses at the then Record and Tape Promotions (RTP), gave him the moniker “Foster the Force Mkweu” after he stood in for Chopper in the foreign land.
The gamble paid off as he pacified fans who only needed to see Chopper on stage.
However, he claims the history of Dendera music’s originators has been distorted.
His name is often omitted or deliberately ignored when long-serving cadres are mentioned. This is the fate Foster Mkweu has decided to keep to his grave.
But who is Foster Mkweu?
“I was born in the Muzuzu area in northern Malawi in 1961. My parents moved to Zimbabwe when I was young and I did my primary education in Selous.
“It is in Selous where I became friends with the Chimbetu family to this day.”
“Firstly, I am not a bitter man, but hard-core Dendera fans know better that I am one of the pioneers of the genre.
“You can write books if I tell you where I started with my late colleagues Simon and Naison Chimbetu.
“It’s a beautiful story that started in Mashonaland West where we used to hang around singing at surrounding farms before we made it to Harare.
“We were nonentities, but we had a passion for what we did and we got our breakthrough after moving to Harare,” reminisces Mkweu as he takes us down memory lane.
The affable drummer and backing vocalist says they started from scratch.
“Naison used to be my best friend and he was very talented despite his social problems.
“When my uncle invited me to come and stay in Dzivaresekwa in the early 1980s, I took him on board.
“We then found jobs at Bon Marché in Mabelreign, but we did not quit music as we used to entertain revellers at Traveller Bar in Dzivaresekwa on pay days by singing acapella songs when we were drunk.”
Mkweu says the late Zex Manatsa changed their lives when he gave them a platform to showcase their talent during a family show in Dzivaresekwa in the 1980s.
“When fans heard that Zex Manatsa was in the area, they begged me and Naison to join them on stage.
“Zex was impressed by us and invited us to his house in Southerton, but members of the Green Arrows gave us a cold shoulder.
“He also phoned Tymon Mabaleka to come and audition us, and he referred us to Mverechena Shopping Centre where we briefly joined Sungura Boys.”
Determined to move on, Mkweu, Simon and Naison returned to Harare’s Mushandirapamwe Hotel.
“The three of us were focused and it didn’t take us long before we formed our group called Marxist Brothers.
“We roped in Solo Makore, whose real name is Edias Mukonowasauka. We called him Solo Makore because he entertained us during the tea break at Bon Marché as a solo guitarist.
“From that, we all learnt to play instruments and I became the drummer and backing vocalist.”
Mkweu reckons lack of credit on some of the Marxist Brothers’ tracks was a big blow to him.
“It’s quite unfortunate that my name was omitted on several singles, among them ‘Mwana Wedangwe’, but I never bothered to ask.
“The group split around 1987 with Naison forming the G7 Commandos while Chopper assembled Orchestra Dendera Kings.
“I remained loyal to Simon for the greater part of the 1990s. When he was arrested on stage, I gave him a shoulder to lean on and even attended all court cases until he was jailed,” recalls Mkweu.
For his loyalty, he led the camp on several occasions.
“There was a time when Chopper’s siblings were not allowed to travel to Mozambique when he was in prison and I took the risk.”
After Chopper’s release, Mkweu formed his group, MK Upper 5, which he still leads.
He also released successful albums including “Kambiri Kechitsiga” in 1996, “Chopfuta Chitsiga” (1997) and “Cheziya in 1998.
Mkweu left Zimbabwe in 1998 for the United Kingdom in search of greener pastures.
“I stayed in north London for five years where I did menial jobs and played for jazz outfits in the UK as a session musician.
“I became homesick and returned in 2005, but life was hard for me and I left for Botswana in 2007 and came back in 2008.
“Determined to send my kids to school, I left for South Africa in 2008 and only came back in October 2017,” says Mkweu.
The affable singer, who resides in Manyame Park, Chitungwiza, conceded life had been hard for him until Kireni Zulu came to his rescue.
“There was a time when people said I had died, but I am alive and kicking. The sad news was circulated on the radio, but I allayed their fears.
“Currently we are working with other legends on a programme spearheaded by Kireni,” says Mkweu, who saluted Zulu for resuscitating the careers of yesteryear musicians.