Profile for rising gospel diva - Jennifer Maneni

Jennifer Maneni is Zimbabwean songwriter, singer, dancer, and a guitarist who specializes in gospel music. Her music is a fusion of many musical beats which include Passada, Reggae, Jit, Rhumba, Chikende, and Jazz.  Her Compositions are inspired by nature, the Word of God in the Bible, sermons which she listens to as well as what happens in society.

She plays an acoustic guitar which she learnt at Zimbabwe College of Music in Harare.

She was born and bred in Harare’s Highfields Suburb and started singing at a tender age. She attended school in Highfields where she participated in Scripture Union at Mukai High. After completing high school, she enrolled for a Marketing Diploma at Great Strides Commercial College and also did a Designing Course majoring in Interior Designing.

The gospel star attributes her entrance into music to her Christian background where she grew up attending Apostolic Faith Mission Church.

After competing her schooling her career started taking shape when, as a session musician, she starred for established gospel musicians in the country as a backing vocalist for award-winning gospel artistes like Mercy Mutsvene, Fungisai Zvakavapano Mashavave, Dona Chibaya, the late Joyce Simeti and Pastor Haisa among others from 2005 and 2012.

While working as a session musician, she got a contract with the then music marketing giant – Zimbabwe Music Corporation to record her first album in 2008 titled Fambai Neni (Walk with Me).

This was her first project ever and as such the album though it was laden with very good songs, it did not get proper marketing.

Having realised that she had gained a lot from the seasoned artists she was working with, she decided to go solo in 2012 and turn professional. She broke her four-year break from the recording studio to record her second offering titled -Total Recovery.

This album did very well with the songs Umire Papi (Where Do You Stand) and Tatenda (We thank you) proving to be the outstanding ones on the album. Up to 2013, the album was almost an anthem on all national radio stations and was on pole position on the gospel charts for over three months. The album was marketed by Ridza Music Management.

The same year when Jennifer went solo, she competed in a competition for Zimbabwean artists to compose a song on the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) general Assembly held that year in Victoria Falls. Her song was selected as the fourth best song out of about 40 entries. That earned her a $10 000 reward.

The release of Total Recovery saw Jennifer’s young musical career being lifted to another level and she got rewarded by getting invitations to play at weddings, revival conferences as well as corporate functions.

In 2015, Jennifer then released a 10-track album titled His Grace which has chart busting songs.

The success of the album which still being played largely on various radio stations culminated in the Gospel diva recording her first-ever DVD (His Grace) where she picked five songs on her album to produce a brilliant project The videos are currently receiving rave reviews from pundits because of its quality, well thought out lyrical content, choreography and well written scripts.

 Songs like You Raise Me Up, Wakatendeka (You are faithful) and Buruka Mweya Washe (Come Holy Spirit) are among the leading songs on the album. Some of the songs are being played on DSTV channels  - Christ TV, Zambezi Magic and at one time the song You Raise Me  Up featured in Afro Beat Top 10  on DSTV channel 326, Trace Africa. The DVD is being marketed through her Jen Music brand.

Riding on the success of her album and DVD, Jennifer was nominated for the PERMICAN - Prophets Emmanuel and Ruth Makandiwa Invitational Concert Awards. The awards is a show that was created in honour of Zimbabwe Gospel Musicians who evangelize through music.  She was nominated alongside other renowned gospel artistes in the Best Traditional category.  The PERMICANs are the only Music Awards Ceremony in Zimbabwe to celebrate outstanding gospel music only. Though another group went on to win the award, her nomination alone shows that her music is of good quality.

The success of her last project has seen the young gospel musician being invited to high profile gigs where she is performing alongside great names in the music industry. She has performed alongside South African Gospel Queen Rebecca Malope. Many companies and corporates have also enlisted her services in doing advertorial jingles for them. She is also the Brand Ambassador for Harare City Football Club.

After all Gokwe is just like any other place

…Chief Njelele speaks on mysterious happenings in his area

By Robert Zvidza

The old Shona saying which says; Hakuna dunhu risina muroyi loosely translated to mean; there is no land without witches, may, on face value, seem false if one is to read on the happenings in Chief Njelele’s area in Gokwe South.

The stories that are emanating from the area seem to suggest that Gokwe is where all witches are made to stay. Forget the Zaka stories back in the day when a purported lighting manufacturer left the Zaka police officers shell shocked when he had gone to surrender his tools of trade.

The Zaka man is believed to have demonstrated his lightning manufacturing prowess on a tree at the station which today stands there half dry.

But for Gokwe, hardly a day passes with no stories associated with witchcraft being reported.

Chief Njelele born Moses Misheck Njelele, however, argues that Gokwe is just like any other place in the country and says it is only that their policy is to publicize anything that is connected to witchcraft which occurs in his area to shame the doers.

“These cases are not particular to Gokwe alone but they happen everywhere in the world including the European nations where they have vampires. It is only that we have made it our policy here that all that which happens in our area, we have to tell it to the people so that it is exposed. Others tend to hide such incidents.

“There are a lot of stories that happen in the country, some even worse than what happens here. Recently, there was a story of a pregnant lady who gave birth to a pair of slippers but it did not make noise because it was hidden from the public eye,” said Chief Njelele in a long-ranging interview with this magazine in Gokwe recently.

He however confirmed as true most of the stories that have been reported in the local papers.

It is in his area of jurisdiction where 26 ladies from Village Head Pauro and Chariseka under Chief Njelele mysteriously woke up one morning without their undergarments despite going to bed with them on.

The panties are said to have been found stashed in a bush and 17 women positively identified their undergarments in the presence of the police with the remaining ones not finding owners may be due to their state.

The Outpost confirmed an incident where the Chief instructed the two Village Heads to conduct a cleansing ceremony with their subjects. At one of these ritual ceremonies, a more mysterious event occurred. It is said that a big eagle came and picked a full-grown dog from the homestead of Village Head Pauro were the cleansing was supposed to be carried out. This occurred in full view of the villagers. The headman immediately abandoned the cleansing ceremony.

It is in Chief Njelele’s area also the place where, in July last year, three children aged five, two and three from the same homestead in Mhokore Village died one after the other in a space of three days.

The deaths of the three siblings came following utterances by a local village head that three members of the family would die in mysterious circumstances to compensate for his three chickens that were accidentally killed by one of the family members.

In a more recent case, a woman from Sidojiwe Village who was pregnant is said to have gone into labour and gave birth to a frog-like creature in a case largely linked to witchcraft.

These, though they seem as scripts taken from horror movies, they are only a pick from most cases that have occurred in Chief Njelele’s area in recent years, most of which are all are witchcraft-related. These cases, says Chief Njelele, emanate from marriage disputes, infidelity or adultery. He also said some cases normally occur during the ploughing season where they fight for farm boundaries and also during harvesting time.

But how did he handle such cases which already seem insurmountable and rampant?

He said he always involved police in the cases but at the end they have nothing to do with the cases as general law and customary law sometimes do not mix.

“As the custodians of the culture and ubuntu in Zimbabwe, when anything happens in my area which is culturally related, I am the first person to know and where we feel the police can be called in, we call them and sometimes we are advised to deal with the cases at my courts which I preside over.

“We have had many cases, which we have sent to court and they end up losing it because of inconsistencies between customary and general law. Witchcraft is there and it’s real, our laws should punish people who engage in these activities and Zimbabwe Traditional Healers Association (ZINATHA) should also work with our courts so that such cases are clearly examined fully,” said Chief Njelele.

Officer-In-Charge Gokwe, Chief Inspector Shellington Mhlanga concurred that they are times they get information on what will be happening in the villages but when we get on the ground no one would volunteer information.

“Villagers here seem comfortable with what their traditional leaders prescribe. They prefer a traditional solution to their problems in the form of inviting witch hunters.

Even though there are some cases where a crime might have possibly occurred; they don’t open up to police or make any report. Sometimes we learn of it from the media,” he said.

But Chief Njelele maintains that culture doesn’t change and the only solution to witchcraft issues is dealing with it through cleansing ceremonies. During the cleansing ceremonies - a hen, goat or a even a beast is slaughtered per the traditional norms and values to cleanse the evil spirits which will be wreaking havoc in the community.

“I deal with qualified people who are vetted and cleared by ZINATHA to partake these ceremonies sometimes on request of villagers. All we want at the end of the day is for the sinner to make himself well to the community,” he said.

Gokwe is largely a settlement of diverse people from across the country who many believe were chased from their original places due to witchcraft activities hence the name of one of the places there being named Gandavaroyi.

However others argue that people came to Gokwe in search of fertile lands after their original home soils no longer offered much food in the fields without applying soil nutrients.

‘From Russia with Love’

He went to the City of Moscow in Russia to compete in the International Kobudo Competition and Samurai Show held last month and he returned with full of love from Russia; Writes Robert Zvidza

Wilfred Mashaya (34) also now known as Ninjaress in police circles returned from the tournament with silver and bronze medals, trophies and certificates in Nunchaku (chuckle sticks) freestyle and weapon freestyle respectively.

For a first time performer competing with the mighty and the great from all over Europe, Mashaya is satisfied with his performance and says with more training, he can become a champion in future tournaments.

Says Mashaya, “I am confident that with more training, I can even do better judging by my performance at the show. This has given me a challenge to train more to show the world that my performance was not by coincidence. But I must say I was unsettled when I discovered that my manager (Senpai David Ochieng) and I were the only black people at the international tourney. Besides being the only African representative, I was the only rookie at the tourney which did not give me a chance.

“In the first performance, I performed second from last and the auditorium was quiet as they all wanted to see what a black man could do. After a few moves, I then heard a thunderous applause and I knew I had done well,” said Mashaya.

He speaks of his winning.

"To tell the truth, I dint think I would come back home with any accolade as my main purpose for competing was for me to gain experience so that I would come back home and perfect my performance. But after watching some of the participants perform, I told myself I could do it.

 “It was not easy being the only black participant but through God’s grace, I defied all odds and prevailed. I am happy I have done this for my beloved nation - Zimbabwe,” said Mashaya in an interview.

Apart from the competitions, Mashaya stands a great chance to become a certified Kobudo International Instructor after entering the grading exercise whose results will be out in January. He has also been successfully accepted and given a certificate as a member of the International Kobudo Association. His participation as well has also culminated in the Zimbabwe Karate Union (ZKU) being certified as an affiliate of the International Kobudo Association.

Mashaya is a black belt holder in Kyokushin from Japan Kyokushin Union and has managed to master different types of martial arts styles like Shaolin Kungfu (Chinese Style) and Kobudo (martial arts in weapons). He is now proficient in the use of chuckle sticks; the Tompha, Three Sectional Stuff, Daikisakai Sword, and the Katana Sword among other weapons which he said were all self-taught. That is why he, on freestyle weapon, he had to use the Tompha which earned him a bronze.

“I have discovered that I am talented in martial arts weapons and I want to specialize in these weapons,” he says.

The ZKU President, Mr. Joe Rugwete said that he was exited by Mashaya’s achievement.

“This achievement is for Zimbabwe and I am happy that this has shown that we have great talent in Zimbabwe and he has opened our eyes to see that we were not paying particular attention to this type of martial arts and his participation will help develop it,” he said.

Growing up, Mashaya has been surrounded by martial arts enthusiasts and this made him like the sport at a tender age. He started training martial arts at a tender age while doing Grade 5 in 1994. He was and is still inspired by action films by Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee. He has high respect for his late Master Sensei Titus Chigumbu who groomed him from a tender age. He also received massive knowledge from several Japanese, Chinese and Korean masters.

“I was also encouraged by my priest at Roman Catholic Church where I was a mass server, who used to train the gujryu style.”

His association with many martial arts gurus has made him adapt to many martial arts styles.

Ninjaress has been involved in several competitions in the country where he has bagged many silverware.

His talent in the police was discovered while he was a recruit at Chikurubi Training Depot, where he formed a martial arts club with the assistance of his squad Instructor, Assistant Inspector Muchineripi Tarwirei. Later on during their graduation parade rehearsals, he was identified by the then Depot Commandant, Senior Assistant Commissioner Grace Ndebele now (Commissioner) who recommended that he gets posted to the ZRP Display Team after completing his training.

Mashaya who has become an integral part of the ZRP Display Team has from then continued to impress at various national events such as Independence Day Commemorations, Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF), Graduation Parades, among other events held by the police.

He has used martial arts to come up with amazing scripts that he has used at various platforms.

He says of these acts in his previous interviews with The Outpost; “These acts are well planned activities, which I sit and down and plan how I can entertain people, according to what gathering I will be entertaining. I use the programme at hand to come out with a story that I then develop into an act, thanks to my colleagues who have accepted my contributions in the police display,” he said.

For Ninjaress Martial Arts is an inborn thing, which he also does as a hobby. He dreams to be the best martial artist. 

“Well, my first dream has been achieved. I always dreamt of joining the police and fighting crime through martial arts, which I think I have achieved. Now I want to be the best martial artist in the police and in the country."

Mashaya was born in Gutu, Masvingo in a family of six and is the only boy in his family. He grew up in Mufakose in Harare, where he attended Makundano Primary as from 1990 to 1996 before attending Form 1 until Form 6 at Mufakose 1 High School from 1997 to 2002.  He then enrolled with Harare Polytechnic College where he did Electronic Computer Systems before joining the Zimbabwe Republic Police on 26 May 2009, and got promoted to the rank of Sergeant in 2013.

“I would like to thank the Commissioner General of Police, Cde Augustine Chihuri for allowing us to showcase our talents and allowing me to participate at this international stage. He also helped by sponsoring me in this tournament. Mr Tonderai Masvova of Integrity Advisory Services also provided insurance for the trip. I also acknowledge the efforts put by the ZKU in making sure I get the requirements for the tournament,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mashaya was given a hero’s welcome upon his return from Russia when he found an entourage organised by the ZRP and ZKU waiting to receive him at Harare International Airport

Tragedy unleashes Mutsago’s writing talent

…the story of a rookie cop who published a thriller

 Growing up in the sprawling suburb of Sakubva in Mutare, a Macheke based police officer, Constable Stephen Mutsago also known by his fans as H.O.D (Head of Department) never dreamt of ever writing any literary work. Instead, he excelled in science as well as public speaking. Mutsago has put behind his youth days to publish a scintillating novel titled Vicious Circle.

 “I was a science student at school and I also excelled in debates and public speaking and I excelled in these areas hence the nickname HOD. I believe my writing was shaped at this tender age,” he told this publication.

Though his talent never saw him writing much, his literary talent was to be awakened from hibernation following the tragic death of his mother; Pauline Mutsago who died a few years after he graduated from the police training school.

“My mother passed on when I thought she would enjoy the fruits of her labour and this was so devastating in my life. I was from a poor background and after graduating from depot in May 2013, I was trying to do something for my mother who had suffered in trying to fend for us, unfortunately, she passed on in September four months after my graduation.

“This was a painful period of my life and to express my sorrow I penned my first novel Ndozviudzaniko. This Shona novel was my first literary work and I wrote it as a dedication to her. When I wrote it, I put it on social media (Facebook) and the response I got was overwhelming. My fans started asking for more and this gave me encouragement and that’s when I started writing.

Since the writing of his first novel, Mutsago has written several other short stories like Vengeance, Delilah and Beautiful Liar all which he has published on his page on social media. On these stories Mutsago says he touched on real-life experiences like heartbreak and love, overcoming fears as well as adventures.

But it is his current novel that he has made a major breakthrough in novel writing. Mutsago speaks about what inspired the writing of the novel Vicious Circle.

“I started writing my current novel in March 2015 and it took me about a year to complete it. When I began writing the novel, I was an Investigation Officer, as an investigator, I liked action-packed movies and used to implement what I was watched in my work. I also wanted to write it more thrillingly to help other police officers to see how we can investigate other cases. I have also infused the need to have God as a helper in investigations or doing police work.

“In the book I was talking about scene attendance and crisis management as well as love and the aspect of religion as in Christianity and how it matters in police work. Lastly I also tackled on unavoidable dangers that we encounter as police in our work,” he said.

The set up of the novel, says Mutsago, is a town set up and is influenced by the environment which I was working in.

Says Mutsago: “Vicous Circle is the situation whereby the solution to a problem creates more of them (problems) making it difficult to solve the original one. Therefore a vicious circle cannot be broken from the inside unless an external factor intervenes. The main character in the novel, Detective HOD is trying to solve a series of cases and the more he tries the more complex they become. This ends up involving his family but in the end, he is victorious. That is when the aspect of the external force – God - intervenes to break it.”

After the publication of a book by the Commissioner-General of Police titled The History of Policing in Zimbabwe, I found out that the book was very informative and touched on real things that happened in the history of police. I also thought that my novel was also informative of things that we meet on the ground as we go about our duties as police.

I must confess the Commissioner-General of Police’s book inspired me so much.

Mutsago then inquired from his superiors how he could also publish his book.

“I approached Superintendent Gibson Shumba who is Superintendent Administration at Makonde District Headquarters where I was stationed. He told me to write my request through the Officer-In-Charge for onwards transmission to Police General Headquarters together with the sample of the book. In July I got the approval to publish.

Soon after approval, I went to the National Archives to get the publishing rights ISBN number and I then went to the editor, Pastor Kimion Tagwireyi a journalist at Pearls Press Media, a publishing consultancy who edited and designed the book at my own cost.

To cater for the variety of readers, the novel Vicious Circle has two editions one in English while the other has a mixture of shone and English as well as slang and is already available for sale in the country.

Though the book is on sale now, Mutsago says that conventional publishing or self-publishing needs resources and its strenuous. But despite that, he says he will write more books.

“I am going to write more books and what pushes me is that as a Christian and a singer and I have learned that besides knowledge of the bible, people need to know of our moral standards as well. I am currently writing another novel Whispering Wind and I am in the preliminary stages. I like action-packed novels though this time I am not concentrating much on police work like Vicious Circle."

Besides writing, Mutsago is also a musician and has a gospel music album which he says still awaits permission from the Commissioner-General of Police. He says music and writing links well as he will be expressing himself in both ways.

The talented writer was attested in the police in November 2012 and was posted to ZRP Chemagamba in Mashonaland West Province after graduation. He was then transferred to Makonde District Headquarters Operations before moving to Mashonaland East Province’s Macheke Police Station where he is doing investigations duties.

Born and bred in the oldest suburb in the border city of Mutare in the Eastern Highlands, Mutsago remembers his days at school where he attended Zamba Primary and St Joseph’s High Schools in Sakubva. While in his secondary education, he earned his nickname H.O.D (Heard of Department) the character which he used in his book Vicious Circle.

He is a father of one and married to Tatenda Kutsirai.