H Metro

MUSICIAN SURVIVES COVID-19

. . . recklessne­ss will kill us

- Trust Khosa

MBIRA artiste Florence “The Lioness/ Shumbakadz­i” Nyamaziva, who was down with Covid-19, has fully recovered.

The 38-year-old mbira artiste and manufactur­er who was diagnosed with the Delta variant along with her three children on July 5, told H-Metro Entertainm­ent & Lifestyle that she sees the grace of the Lord.

She also hailed this publicatio­n that her heart bleeds for reckless people who still consider the pandemic a myth.

However, The Lioness has vowed to use her painful experience as she battled Covid-19 to step up awareness against the pandemic.

“Covid-19 is real and being a survivor I think I have a lot to say and educate people on the pandemic,” said the Norton based mbira princess in a telephone interview.

The mother of seven who appealed to well-wishers to come to her rescue along with three children said she was now geared to whip ‘‘hot-heads’’ in line.

“I’m really concerned by people who are still moving around without masks and holding public gatherings in my community of Norton and its environs.

“There are some people who are still in denial and it appears they will take long to abide by the WHO regulation­s.

“It’s also sad to note that there are some people who consider lockdowns as punishment but in reality Covid-19 is real and painful.

“I endured excruciati­ng pain, which made me lose hope of survival and I can’t imagine some of my peers getting Covid-19 because it will mean a death sentence,” she said.

Asked how she intended to utilise her influence to raise awareness, The Lioness said:

“I have since approached the Health and Child Care Ministry to assist me in this noble cause where I’m coming in as a volunteer in this campaign. I will also utilise my social media handles to spread the word and what motivates me is that I am a Covid-19 survivor who is set to use his experience to raise awareness among those in denial.”

The Lioness whose illness was exclusivel­y revealed by this H-Metro said sharing her pain helped her a lot.

“When I told H-Metro about my illness, I was a bit skeptical but I later got a lot of help and support from a lot of people who are mainly strangers.

“I didn’t know that good people still exist even during such trying times and I am grateful to all those who helped me.

“On that note, would like to educate people to continue following the set guidelines as well as taking traditiona­l remedies,” she added.

The Lioness, who is backed by Ninga DzeNharira under led by former Mbira DzeNharira co-founder Micah Munemo, said she was fit to resume virtual performanc­es.

She is set to launch her new single titled “Zvinoita Masango” on August 1 online as she marks her return.

She has been recording music 2006, having started as a gospel artiste before turning to traditiona­l music.

Her rich discograph­y is made up of his debut 2006 album “Tisadzoker­e Shure”, which was followed by “Gwindingwi” (2008), “Bhinya Ngaribatwe” (2010), “Matama Matsvene Nembira” (2016) and the 2021 production titled “Paidamoyo”.

As precursor to the “Paidamoyo”, she is set to release the single “Zvinoita Masango”, which has an accompanyi­ng video.

Backed by a star-studded Ninga DzeNharira, The Lioness who is ready to roar and conquer was upbeat the album was a gamechange­r in mbira.

On this album, Munemo played the Nhovapasi mbira whole Trust Benson (congas), Lala Benson (hweva) while the Lioness did the lead vocals.

She also played the hand rattles/hosho on this album.

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