Stella Chiweshe: Zimbabwe’s mbira queen, rebel music star and pioneer
GIBSON NCUBE STELLA Rambisai Chiweshe, affectionately known in Zimbabwe as “the queen of mbira” or “Ambuya (grandmother) Chiweshe”, passed away on 20 January 2023. Through Mbira/Anhrefn Records Chiweshe was born in July 1946 in the rural area of Mhondoro in the Mashonaland province of northern Zimbabwe. She began playing the mbira, an ancient thumb piano, in the early 1960s. At the time she was reproached by both men and women because she had dared to play an instrument that was ordinarily played by men. Chiweshe was not only a singer, songwriter and musician who performed extensively across Africa, Europe and…