Zimbabwe-born veteran jazz musician Dorothy Masuka has died.
She was 83.
Masuka had been suffering from complications related to hypertension after suffering a mild stroke last year.
Thousands of fans, politicians and prominent artists from across the globe took to social media to convey their condolences to the Masuka family following the announcement of the world-renowned jazz singer’s death last night.
https://twitter.com/ProVerbMusic/status/1099355268117336064/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1099355268117336064&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sowetanlive.co.za%2Fnews%2Fsouth-africa%2F2019-02-23-veteran-musician-dorothy-masuka-has-died%2F
A baobab tree has fallen with the passing of a one of a kind Musician, the legendary Mama Dorothy Masuka. Her music was the soundtrack of some of our most joyful moments & the light of our souls during our darkest hours. Lala ngoxolo Mama wethu. pic.twitter.com/YIg5AG6FwP
— Nathi Mthethwa (@NathiMthethwaSA) February 23, 2019
Masuka was born and raised in Bulawayo, where her musical talent was discovered at a tender age before she left the country for South Africa.
She became a household name in South Africa because most of her music was inspired by the lives of people living in the townships in the 1950s. This did not go down well with the apartheid regime and she fled the country and had brief stints in Malawi, Tanzania and the UK before she returned to the then Rhodesia.
Ms. Masuka did not stay much in Rhodesia as a result of her political inclination, which compelled her to flee the country to Zambia, from where she relocated to Zimbabwe, a year after independence in 1981. She only moved back to South Africa after Nelson Mandela was released from jail in 1990.
Aunty Dot, as she was popularly known, released several songs, including hits such as Pata Pata, Ma-Gumede, Khauleza, Nhingrikiri and Lendaba, among others.
She was staying in Johannesburg with her grandchildren.
