By Fidelis Manyange
CHITUNGWIZA-based musician, known in music circles as Gaban Kufemamoto Chebani Chedondo Chegwenzi Chebundo Chemuti Chesango Jiridema Gift Chibwe, has penned seven English novels, produced two music albums and is on the verge of producing a movie.
Gaban’s music is about patriotism and social issues. Many listeners have mistaken his music for Chief Hwenje’s as they have identical voices and beats and both hail from Masvingo.
The Zaka-born artiste’s novels — ‘Blood Chieftainship’, ‘Envisioned Destiny’, ‘When Ecstasy Develops’, ‘The Lost Son’, ‘Faith is a Witch’, ‘The Orphan’ and ‘Why Me?’ — touch on various aspects of life — from love to orphanhood.
‘Blood Chieftainship’ is a folktale about a strong kingdom which had to win battles at all costs to retain its chieftainship. The kingdom used a magic stick to predict the outcome of battles. Long back, chieftainship was acquired and defended by fighting.
“On the other hand, ‘Envisioned Destiny’ is about my boyhood experiences in Tokwe-Mukosi, Chivi, which included trapping rabbits and other small wild animals for a living,” explains Chibwe.
“When Ecstacy Develops’ is a story of a lusty man in the village who used to bed his daughters-in-law in his sons’ absence which eventually led to the obliteration of the family lineage.
“The Lost Son is a story of a son who forgot about his parents to the extent they thought he was dead. They expected that their son would take care of them in their old age. Unfortunately, that did not happen.
“Faith is a Witch is about a man who fell head over heels in love with a lady called Faith whom he pampered with almost everything she desired. Faith, instead, started having affairs with other suitors, leading the man to label her a witch when they parted company.
“The Orphan brings out what most orphans experience at the hands of their guardians. Growing up under a guardian is not easy as it requires courage rather than self-pity.
“Why Me is a sad story of a lady who unexpectedly lost all the modest fortune she had accumulated over the years,” said Chibwe.
The artiste’s late father, a soldier in the Zimbabwe National Army, inspired him to join the Government security sector where he currently works. Chibwe has so far produced two albums, namely ‘Chioma Ndikupfeke’ and ‘Rudo Chipembenene’, released in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
‘Chioma Ndikupfeke’ has ‘Jambwa, ‘Chenai’, ‘Africa Vol. 1’, ‘Ruvarashe’, ‘Bvuma Kusiya’, ‘Murume Wangu’, ‘Coronavirus’ and ‘Vanoda Mari’ as its plug tracks whilst ‘Rudo Chipembenene’ boasts tracks such as ‘Vana veZimbabwe’, ‘Ndipe Chance’, ‘Wandinaye Wangu’, ‘Try Me’, ‘Pauline’, ‘Twalumba’ and ‘Africa’.
Apart from writing books, Chibwe is also on a movie titled, ‘The Conditions of My Love’, which is conditional on securing funding support. He started working on the film project in 2021.
Chibwe joins a litany of other local and global artistes who have authored books, notably Chirikure Chirikure, Kireni Zulu, Albert Nyathi, Bob Dylan and Dolly Parton, among others.
