Who was the last hangman in zimbabwe

Who is He

• His real name is Xavier Madzikatire and ‘Safirio’ was a corrupted version of ‘Xavier’
• He was a multi-displinary artist specialising in comedy and music

Early Years

• Born on the 2nd of April 1932
• He was from Tanda, Rusape
• Grew up in Mbare with his mother’s family, the Madzikatires and was his mother’s only child

Wife
Ntongasi Lucia Madzikatire

Three Children

( Elijah, Rufus and Nancy Madzikatire)

Primary School

• At Chitsere in Mbare
• Where he was groomed by Linah and Kenneth Mataka to play a guitar, their drama was already being aired on the Rhodesia Broadcasting Corporation (RBC)

Career

• He started playing the solo guitar known as the banjo in the 1970s.
• teamed up with Susan Chenjerai’s daughters to form ‘Mhuri yavaMakore’ which was produced by Webster Shamu and aired on radio
• It was later changed to Mhuri yavaMukadota due to a disagreement with the producers in 1972 in which his son Elijah starred as ‘Rwizi’
• Mukadota and his son Elijah featured in a Surf tele
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  Elijah Madzikatire

  
  

  I met Elijah Madzikatire years after he had hung up his guitar. 

  He had also left Gramma Records where he had produced the late Paul Matavire’s debut single VaJiri. 

  At the time, Elijah had acted in the movie Everyone’s Child and had a comedy Bhero Mukadota running on ZBC TV.

  We met at club in Hatfield one evening in 2004. He lumbered into the club about an hour after the appointment.

  I had had the opportunity of attending a show in Mvurwi where the whole Mukadota Family turned out in 1979. I was a small boy then and during those days, Mukadota, who drove a BMW, travelled with a big troupe that included actors and musicians.

  At the time, Elijah had released quite a number of songs. I recall very well his song about karate where he would imitate a karateka on stage.

  Being the days of Bruce Lee movies, that song was very popular with boys.

  Surprisingly, Elijah did not mince his words when he spoke to me about his days in the music industry and how his father treated him.
  
  

  In some way, he revealed the other side of M

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  Mukadota

  Mukadota was a legendary, multi-talented artist who is considered as one of the best comedians and musicians ever to emerge out of the country. He rose to prominence in the early 1980s when he played the role "Mukadota" on The Mukadota Family, a Shona drama which ran on Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation Television. Mukadota is best known for his talent of mixing humor and music on stage. His songs "KuHanyani" and "Usandisiye" became instant hits and scaled him to dizzy heights.

  Background

  Safirio Madzikatire was born on 2 April 1932 and came from Tanda, Rusape. He grew up in Mbare with his mother’s family, the Madzikatires, and was his mother’s only child. His real name was Xavier Madzikatire and the name Safirio was a corrupted version of Xavier.^[1]

  Career

  Mukadota started his artistic journey in the 1940s when he was still a pupil at Chitsere Primary School in Mbare.It is there that his passion for art developed and grew. To hone his craft, he joined the couple of Kenneth and Lainah Mataka in 1948. The couple had already established itself as th