Aleck Macheso to marry daughter's friend

Aleck Macheso

Sungura maestro Alick Macheso’s marriage boat has hit stormy waters following revelations that he will soon take a second wife.The artiste confirmed there was a new love in his life, 28-year-old Tafadzwa Mapako. For both Alick and Tafadzwa this will be a second marriage.

While Tafadzwa is a childless divorcee, Alick is customarily married to Nyadzisai with whom he has five children. However, the Orchestra Mberikwazvo frontman’s admission yesterday that he will be marrying Tafadzwa comes just a few months after he publicly denied he was going out with her.

This followed media reports that the fiery bassist was spending a chunk of his earnings on her and neglecting band members. Baring all yesterday, Alick said: "Tafadzwa is my girlfriend and we have been going out for one-and-a-half years. I will soon be paying lobola for her so that we can formalise everything.

"I don’t know why people want to persecute me over this affair. Am I the only man who is having a relationship? Zvakaipei zvandiri kuita? Ndini ndatanga nazvo here?"

Macheso, who turns 42 this year, said he had told Nyadzi-sai about the new wife and she had accepted Tafadzwa into the family home. Tafadzwa yesterday confirmed the relationship and expressed her deep love for Alick.

She said this in an interview at her home in Zimre Park, where Alick was comforting her after an asthma attack. Tafadzwa also claimed she was in good books with Nyadzisai. However, Nyadzisai professed ignorance about the pending union.

"It’s news to me and I am hearing it for the first time," she said in an interview at the matrimonial home in Unit A Chitungwiza last night. She said she knew Tafadzwa as a friend of her daughter, Sharon (24).

"Musateerere zvemakuhwa, she is my daughter’s friend. At one time, she was even organising Sharon’s papers’ so that she could pursue her studies in Canada.

"But we could not let her go because of her condition. She is diabetic," Nyadzisai said. Her mother-in-law, Mrs Emilia Macheso, concurred with her.

"Ndezvenyu zvekumapepa. Munoti Baba VaSharon vakaroora mukadzi wechipiri?

"Wepi? Nhasi uno anga atori pano tikatomubikira sadza nematemba akadya," said the visibly angry Mbuya Macheso after being asked about her son’s second marriage.

Alick and Tafadzwa are understood to have been seeing each other since early last year when she approached the talented bassist claiming she had close links with Akon. And Akon was just in Zimbabwe to stage a show with Sean Paul and Alick Macheso.

Tafadzwa had been dodging the media since last year, but yesterday came out clean on her relationship with the talented guitarist, composer and dancer, describing it as the most "loving union" she had ever known.

"I started going out with Alick when I came back from America to visit and we immediately clicked.

"I know a lot of things have been written about me in the papers, but they are not true.

"For starters I am not a gold digger. I love Alick very much and we have got common interests," she said.

The Herald phoned Tafadzwa while at Nyadzisai’s home to see if the stories corroborated. Tafadzwa was with Alick at the time as he was nursing her after her asthma attack on Sunday. The soon-to-be new wife boldly declared she was not ashamed about the relationship and was on good terms with everyone in the Macheso family.

"I have got respect for Mai Sharon and she is like a mother to me. Whenever I have problems with Alick, I always go to her for advice, and I know she is not bitter about the relationship," she said.

Apart from regularly going to America to "visit friends", Tafadzwa said she is not formally employed and spends most of her time listening to her soon-to be husband’s discography.