Takawira “Photoveteran” Dapi

ZimNow Correspondent

Nearly three decades after the death of Jit music icon Biggie Tembo, his widow Ratidzai Mariga — known today as Mai Masamusa or Mai Mazondo — has broken her silence on her husband’s final days and her own long journey from star’s spouse to survival.

Speaking to Zim Now from her modest home in Ushewokunze, Harare, Ratidzai dismissed long-standing rumours that the Bhundu Boys frontman died of HIV/AIDS.

“My husband was a disciplined man who always travelled with me,” she said firmly. “People said he died of AIDS — no, go and check his records at Harare Hospital. Biggie Tembo did not die of that disease. You can see his health through me — I’m still strong, still alive, still as he left me in 1995.”

Tembo, whose real name was Biggie Rodwell Tembo Marasha, died on 25 July 1995, aged 37.

Ratidzai recalls her glamorous years in the United Kingdom, where Biggie performed alongside global stars including Madonna.

“At Wembley Stadium, when the Bhundu Boys finished their set, the crowd cried, ‘Give us some more Simbimbino!’,” she laughed softly. “We lived well — all races came to our home with gifts. I left everything behind when I returned to Zimbabwe.”

Life changed drastically after Biggie’s death. Most of the couple’s houses were sold while he was ill, leaving her homeless. She eventually joined the Ushewokunze Housing Cooperative, paying just one dollar a month until she built a small home.

“Later, Biggie’s manager in Europe, Gordon Muir, sent me royalties. That’s the money I used to finish this house,” she said.

Today, the former UK celebrity wife wakes at 3:30 a.m. to make and sell samosas on the streets of Ushewokunze, a business she started with provisions from her own kitchen.

“I started with only one packet of flour, two litres of cooking oil and potatoes worth US $1.50,” she said. “Now it’s been five years. God gave me this vending wisdom.”

Without electricity, she often works by candlelight. Her two grandchildren, Shalom and Tendai, help her deliver snacks to customers.

“Some ask why I’m vending when I’m Biggie Tembo’s widow. I tell them: this is my season. God chose this path for me.”

At 59, Ratidzai is an inspirational figure in her neighbourhood — independent, humorous, and spiritual.

“Men still try their luck,” she chuckled. “But I refuse. I focus on my family.”

She lives for her seven grandchildren and children, including Biggie Tembo Jnr, who continues his father’s musical legacy but is struggling with worn-out equipment.

“If any artists or well-wishers can help him with a PA system, I’ll be grateful,” she said. “The speakers he got from Pastor Charamba are now finished.”

Biggie Tembo, born 30 October 1957, was one of Zimbabwe’s most influential post-independence musicians. His band, the Bhundu Boys, fused jiti and chimurenga rhythms with Western pop, taking Zimbabwean music to international stages.

BBC DJ John Peel once broke down in tears after seeing them perform, calling them “the most natural, effortless, catchy pop band I’ve ever heard.”

All the group’s members have passed away — Rise Kagona (2024), Kenny Chitsvatsva and David Mankaba (1991), Shepherd Munyama (1992), Shakespeare Kangwena (1993), Washington Kavhai, and Kudaushe Matimba.

“Biggie loved teaching children marimba and song,” Ratidzai said. “He wanted every child to learn music the way others learn language.”

The Message

Despite hardship, she radiates pride and peace.

“To all widows,” she said softly, “be jealous of your children’s health and future. Don’t sit on your hands — work with them. I’m still here, still selling samosas, still guided by the God who saw me through my husband’s passing.”