Mbaraka, the icon who never peaked

There are several events that happened in early 1979 that will forever remain in the history of Tanzania.

 As the Tanzanian People’s Defence Forces (TPDF) battled an invading army in Kagera in the war which climaxed with the toppling of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin ‘Dada’, something else had happened in neighbouring Kenya.

 In the late hours of January 12, news on Radio Tanzania Dar es Salaam (RTD) announced the death of music icon Mbaraka Mwinshehe Mwaruka, following a road accident.

This was a loss of an artiste that many thought was spearheading East Africa’s dance music at the time,and  who was yet to reach the creative apex of his career.  

A self-taught guitarist, Mwinshehe played Kwela music with Cuban Branch Jazz as a teenager. 

Studying singing with Salim Abdallah, a founding member of Morogoro Jazz who had gone on to form the Cuban Marimba Band, he continued to grow as a vocalist. 

Mwinshehe established his reputation as a member of the Morogoro Jazz, between 1964 and 1973 and continued to make his influence felt as the leader of his own band, Super Volcano, from 1973 until his untimely death.  

Just like many other Tanzanian artistes of the time, the gifted musician switched his base from Tanzania to Kenya where there were better opportunities especially in the 1970s.

Mwinshehe’s talent blossomed quite early as a young schoolboy in Morogoro where he occasionally performed at concerts with neighbourhood bands.

However, his real break was to come on a day in 1965 when he seemed to have made up his mind to drop out of school and take a bus to Dar es Salaam to pursue a career in music. 

On that day, as Morogoro Jazz musicians were taking a break outside their club house, a young man who was rather familiar came by carrying a huge bag.

As it emerged, Mbaraka wholly decided, he no longer wanted anything to do with school. And he was only a Form Three student.

Through pep talk that ensued between the two parties, the musicians managed to convince the budding musician to sleep over at the club house as he sorted his future.

As many of his peers admit, Mbaraka was a man full of surprises. The following morning, contrary to what the rest of the band knew, they were woken up by the sounds of a rhythm guitar which was being played by the young man.

This was quite contrary to what they had known of the lad who practiced and played the whistle.

At that time the band didn’t have a rhythm guitarist, yet they were preparing for a show. They had to convince this novice to stay with them and abandon his dream of going to Dar es Salaam.

During those days it was common practice that only trumpet, saxophone and solo guitarists were paid monthly allowances, whereas the other band members were only paid some paltry allowance after a performance.

The hottest competition of that time came from mainly Kilwa Jazz; no wonder when the band was invited for a contest in Dar es Salaam Mbaraka saw this as his opportunity to lay his claim for better pay.

Despite being a novice, the band caved in to his demands and accepted to pay him a monthly salary of Sh120.

This act riled other band members who could not believe that a mere rhythm guitar player was earning a monthly salary. Mutiny was brewing in Morogoro Jazz.

The solo guitarist to that effect refused to travel with the band to Dar es Salaam, a role that Mbaraka happily accepted to take on despite having very little experience.

This was to become a move that culminated into his breakthrough, as his performance attracted whispers, for the band went on to win the contest.

His salary was immediately raised to Sh250, an amount that many say was a huge salary that no musician earned at that time.  

He remained as focal point of Morogoro Jazz as a solo guitarist until he went on to form his own band, Super Volcano.

His style of strumming the guitar made him lay claim as one of the best soloists of his time, exploring several genres such as Suluhu, Likembe, Masika Zolezole and many others.

During that time Morogoro, which hosted bands such as Cuban Marimba and Morogoro Jazz, became Tanzania’s entertainment capital, as folks would regularly flock there on weekends from other towns, just to attend music shows.

His death

At the age of 34, Mbaraka was one of the hottest properties in the music industry in East Africa and many a pundit believe that he was yet to reach the zenith of his potential after he moved to Kenya in 1973.

On that fateful afternoon, according to Zebedee Japhet Kinoka aka Super Zex who witnessed the accident, a white Peugeot 404 rammed into a stationary lorry at around Kigonya Church in Mombasa.

As he and other bystanders rushed to the scene of the accident, he immediately recognised one of the occupants as Mbaraka Mwinshehe, a Tanzanian musician.

Apart from Mbaraka, the other two occupants were also pronounced dead on the spot before efforts could be made to take them to Makadara Hospital.

The political tensions prevailing then between Kenya and Tanzania could not permit cross border activities and that is why his compatriots who were also plying their trade in Kenya at that time couldn’t come for the burial.

After his body had been received by relatives and officials from the Department of Culture on the Tanzanian side, Mbaraka’s body was laid to rest in Mzenga, Kisarawe. 

His routes

Mbaraka Mwinshehe Mwaruka was born on June 27, 1944. He was the second born in a family of 12 children.

His father, Mwinshehe Mwaruka was from the Luguru tribe who was fortunate to go to school and later became a clerk at one of the extensive sisal farms .

Of the 12 children that Mzee Mwinshehe Mwaruka sired, only three became musicians, Zanda was a vocalist whereas Matata was a drummer who excelled with Morogoro Jazz as well.

The only reason Mwaruka’s family was based in Mzenga and not in Morogoro was because as a young man Mbaraka’s grandfather got a posting in Kisarawe where he went on to become a chief.

 While in Kisarawe, the new chief married nine wives with whom he sired over 50 children.

Additional notes by John Kitime