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Fred Zindi Music
I first met Daiton and Josphat Somanje of Pengaudzoke fame in 1989 when they came to Luck Street, downtown Harare in the Kopje area where the Frontline Kids were rehearsing. Emmanuel Thomas of the Frontline Kids phoned me asking me to meet these guys for a “business deal”. He said the Somanje brothers wanted to ‘hire’ our equipment for a show they were booked to perform in Beatrice.

I was awestruck by the name of the group, “Pengaudzoke”. There were very few groups with Shona names at the time apart from Nyami Nyami Sounds, Devera Ngwena and Maungwe Brothers. I thought, “Oh, how creative!” The groups we knew were Blacks Unlimited, Black Spirits, Four Brothers, Khiama Boys, Bhundu Boys, The Real Sounds, The O.K. Success, The Broadway Quartet, Wells Fargo, Ebony Sheik, Pied Pipers, The Green Arrows, Ocean City Band and Sea Cottage Sisters, but nothing as original as “Pengaudzoke”.

However, I had my doubts about hiring out our equipment to people I did not know, but Emmanuel convinced me to let them take the equipment for the weekend for Z$200. It was also in keeping with our policy of trying to assist other up-coming and struggling groups through whatever support we could give. The band had just released a single titled “Tezvara Revai Pfuma” which was doing well in the charts. They needed to follow this up with live shows but they did not have equipment to give live performances. So the deal was sealed.

The equipment was brought back on the Monday but with all the drum skins torn and one bass speaker from the PA system blown. There was no apology from the rather quiet Josphat or his brother although I could see the embarrassment written all over their faces. I was disappointed as the repair bill came to thousands of dollars.

When they came back the second time, it was a straight “No”. That is when my business deal with Pengaudzoke ended.

From that time onwards, I had no further deals with Pengaudzoke. I just watched their progress from a distance.

Pengaudzoke was founded by Josphat in 1985 at a farm in the Beatrice area. Members at the time included three brothers, Daiton Somanje, Josphat Somanje and Clever Somanje. Then there was Lameck Fadwick, and two other brothers, LaisonNgowera, and Marefura Ngowera.

Sungura was at the time the in-thing. Gramma Records were quick to capture the talent coming from this band and gave them a recording contract. They released their debut single “Chinhu Chevaridzi” in 1988, a song which was penned by Daiton.

In 1990, they made a major breakthrough by releasing their debut eight track album “Kwatakabva Kure Nenhamo” which had the hit tracks “Munonditaura”’ and “Famba Mwana”.

It was during this period of success with their debut album that money problems surfaced. As Lord Mancroft said long ago, “Money does not buy friends, but it allows a better class of enemies”. Indeed, it is extraordinary how many emotional storms one may weather if one is ballasted with ever so little money. The two Ngowera brothers thought that they would be involved in sharing the spoils from the “Kwatakabva Kure Nenhamo” album but Josphat took most of the royalty payments made and bought a car which he said was for the band although he was the only one licensed to drive it at the time. He gave the group to share what was left of the money earned. This did not go down well with the rest of the group and Laison and Marefura Ngowera decided to leave the groupto form their own band in 1993.

After persuading his brother to stay Josphat and Daiton went on to release another album, “Mandivavarira” which came in 1998 before “Sakunatsa Ndiye Sakubayiwa” in 1999.

Their big break came in 2002 with “Tokudai Mose’ that carried the hit song “Tsaona”. Ironically, the success of this album was to be the brothers’ breaking point. Some more money was made from “Tsaona” and there were more problems for the two brothers. Josphat’s mother-in- law became ill and Daiton’s wife also became sick. Josphat used the group’s car to ferry his sick mother-in-law to Malawi and there was talk about witchcraft in the family. Daiton accused Josphat of bewitching his wife. There was also disagreement over the vehicle. Josphat decided to leave Daiton and Pengaudzoke in order to form his own Somanje Stars with new people he had recruited. These were Douglas Akim, Brighton Kerias, Wilson Meka and Gibson Lameck.

However, since Daiton was the main vocalist in the group Pengaudzoke, the road for Josphat proved hard to travel. He was strong at playing the lead guitar , but went on to release his first solo album, “Sango” while Daiton who had carried on with Pengaudzoke, released “Upile” at the same time.

There were more problems in the Somanje families.Daiton had re-married Annah Kezias and was living in the same house with his children from the first marriage.Daiton’s son, Faheem from his first wife had now joined Pengaudzoke.

Faheem is alleged to have taken an interest in his step mother. Daiton accused his son of bedding his wife Annah Kezias, and he disowned his son after suspecting that he was having an affair with his stepmother.

Daiton moved out of the family home in Marondera and sought an eviction order against his wife and son, Faheem. He went to live in Dzivarasekwa with yet another woman he called his wife, Esther Musango.

However, after a long feud, DaitonSomanje forgave his son for having sex with his stepmother.

Apart from recruiting Faheem into his band, Daiton also went to snatch some members of Josphat’s band leaving Josphat, not only angry but without musicians. Josphat had been arrested for allegedly raping a minor and it is during this period that Daiton took advantage of his band members. For a while the brothers did not see eye to eye even though the media was awash with rumours of a re-union. One could tell the brothers were desperate to improve their financial standing but did not know how to solve their differences. Gramma records who had an interest in the union of the two, even tried to intervene in the dispute, but money became the biggest obstacle between the two brothers as they could not agree on how they would share the money from the new contract.

Daiton’s poor health did not help in the war that was going on between him and his brother. He was diagnosed with tuberculosis and meningitis and he eventually died at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals on Tuesday, the 7th April. He was aged 50.

He was buried in Marondera on the 9th of April. No journalist was allowed at his funeral because his relatives viewed reporting by the media about both Josphat and Daiton as negative. Journalists were therefore denied entry to House no. 3704, Museve Street, Rusike Phase 1 in Marondera where mourners were gathered.

I did not attend his funeral but according to i-Harare, DaitonSomanje’s niece, only identified as Amai Panashe hurled insults and threatened violence if the media did not leave.

“You are not welcome here; you have not been fair in your reportage on issues regarding my uncles Josphat and Daiton. How can you say Josphat failed to secure bus fare to visit his brother who was in hospital in Harare?” she quipped. “How can you report that Daiton’s illness united this family? Have we been disunited before? Get away before we beat you up! You are not going to enter through this gate. We need peace here!”

Certainly, without going into details, Daiton lived a rather reckless life. His life was filled with “tsaona”.

Born to farm labourers in the 1960’s, Daiton had a nomadic childhood, which saw him enrolling at four primary and three secondary schools. Among the secondary schools he attended was St. Francis High School in Chikwaka. On completion of his secondary education at St Francis Chikwaka, he enrolled at Harare Polytechnic for a Diploma in Electronic Engineering.

At the time of his death, he was now a devout Christian.

Zimbabwe has lost a talented musician but we will always remember Daiton through his exciting and melodic music which he has left us.

May his soul rest in eternal peace.

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