Emotional send-off for Briam Chimbetu

The cemetery had swelled to accommodate the hundreds of Chimbetu fans who flocked to his funeral on Wednesday. Briam Chimbetu died on Saturday at St Annes Clinic in Harare.

Musicians from across the generations mingled with the public as they paid their final respects to the influential musician – who shot to fame basking under the glory of his late brother, Simon.

Some were old friends - others friends from the airwaves - but each had a story to tell about how Chimbetu - whose late brother Simon was conferred with hero status and interred at a provincial hero’s acre last year - had influenced their lives.

The lucky few members of the public who managed to fill the final few pews inside the cemetery were as diverse as the music he played. Old and young - some dressed in t-shirts and jeans, others in suits, school uniforms, and a leather jacket with Orchestra Dendera Kings splashed across the back – all scrambled for a place at his funeral.

They joined hundreds of mourners who braved the scorching heat to listen to the service. Emblazoned in a white cloth, shrouded in red flowers and foliage in honour of Chimbetu, his coffin was greeted at the cemetery with applause and carried by friends and relatives to its final resting place.

Many of the mourners, led by his wife and his five children, echoed the sentiment by wearing a splash of red in a black outfit, a tie, a scarf or a flower.

Tributes were paid by Policy Implementation minister Webster Shamu, Chegutu Mayor Francis Dlakama and Briam’s brother Allan, who talked of his “extraordinary brother”.

A family friend read out an affectionate letter penned by Chimbetu’s five children. In it, they paid tribute to their father and recounted tales of life with their dad, his love for music and their “lovely family home”.

For a man whose eclectic taste defined his career, music during the service ranged from guitar solos sandwiched between prominent vocal lines and repetitive guitar riffs. Briam played a wide range of music genres. But most of it was similar to that of his brother’s earlier band, the Marxist Brothers.

Briam had three albums to his credit but mainly sang alongside Simon, who had a string of hits during the 1980s and late 1990s.

Briam shot to prominence in 1989 when he was left to assume the position of Dendera Kings front man after his late brother, Simon, was jailed for car theft.

As “Chopper” – Simon’s stage name - was serving his prison term, Briam recorded albums Ruregerero, First Cut and The Missing Link with the Dendera Kings. He also played a key role in the recording of Simon’s best selling album Nguva Yakaoma. At the time of his death, he was band manager.

His farewell was a somber send off, for many who had been endeared to his Dendera music.

As the strains of church hymns died, mourners escorted Chimbetu’s coffin out of the hearse to his final resting place.

It was left to the mourners to show their final appreciation to the man who influenced so many with his music, with a final moment of silence as mounds of freshly dug earth were heaped on top of his coffin.