Sunday mail barred for revealing Mtukudzi love child

Sam Mtukudzi

A joint memorial service for the late musician Sam Mtukudzi and Owen Chimhare was held yesterday at Pakare Paye Arts Centre in Norton, two months after the two friends died in a car crash near Kuwadzana Extension.

The service started at 9am, but a Sunday Mail crew was singled out and barred from being part of the proceedings which ended at 1pm.All other publications that went to cover the memorial were allowed to attend the service but only after going through a rigorous vetting process to prove that they were not from The Sunday Mail.

According to a man who claimed to have been a friend of Oliver Mtukudzi’s for over 20 years, The Sunday Mail could not be allowed to be part of the proceedings because of a story the paper recently published revealing that Mtukudzi has a 27-year-old male child.

The revelation about Selby Tapiwa Mtukudzi, the love child, is said to have infuriated the Mtukudzi family, resulting in this publication being barred from the ceremony.

“That story which you wrote has caused problems in the family and everyone is very unhappy with your paper. Therefore, the family has requested peace and privacy as they hold this memorial service,” said the family friend who only identified himself as Felix.

When asked if he knew about Selby, Felix said he had no idea and only got wind of the existence of Selby when the story was published on April 25.

“It is not only me who got to know about Selby when you published but many other family members as well.”

Felix further revealed that the story had also caused problems to Mtukudzi’s marriage, adding that the family would discuss the issue after the memorial service.

“We are going to sit down as a family and ask Mtukudzi about this issue. We want him to tell us whether this child is his or not.

“After that, we are going to come to you guys and tell you exactly what he would have said. Actually, we want to clear this matter because it has caused a lot of speculation,” said Felix.

While Felix was still explaining why this paper had been barred, Pakare Paye Arts Centre security and other plainclothed security personnel started making unfriendly advances resulting in The Sunday Mail crew deciding to back off.

Yesterday’s memorial for Sam and Owen, who died tragically on March 15, marked the end of the mourning period for the Mtukudzi family. Sam’s death robbed the Zimbabwean arts industry of a talented young musician whose music career was just beginning to blossom.

Owen was Sam’s childhood friend and housemate and worked as a sound engineer in the former’s Ay Band.The pair died when their car veered off the road and crashed into a bridge on the outskirts of Harare while they were driving home to Norton from the capital.

They were buried side by side at Warren Hills Cemetery in Harare on March 17.