Kanumba’s vacuum still a thorn in Bongo films

This week the entertainment fraternity commemorated the second anniversary of Steve Kamumba’s death which coincided with Karume Day which is a public holiday.

And with such as the politicians went for one of the founding fathers of the United Republic of Tanzania, entertainers celebrated the life the pioneer of what we now know as Bongo movies.

The tributes for the fallen actor who died under mysterious circumstances have been flowing from fellow actors, family and even from beyond the boundaries.

His journeys across Africa in countries such as Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, DR Congo, Kenya, Uganda and ultimately the signing of what was meant to be his breakthrough deal had made him a star that Tanzania yearned for.

Compatriots such as Wema Sepetu, Aunt Ezekiel, Jacob Steven, Swebbe Santana, Flora Mvungi, Cassie Kabwita and many others made their feelings known. They miss him quite dearly.

Wema though dogged by some funny moment recently was modest in her tribute and resisted the temptations of getting over board for her former flame.

But there was one that drew the attention of many, and that was from actress Elizabeth Michael aka Lulu who it was claimed was with him on the fateful night.

Many thought that with time Lulu perhaps would outgrow her ‘foolish age’ vibe but here she was drawing the dagger to herself letting herself face to face with fans who could be compared to a torero, and her, a wounded bull at their mercy. There was no mercy shown even when she attempted to be genuine in her heartfelt message.

In her message which in some circles sounded a bit controversial.

Lulu wrote: I still can’t believe that it has been two years now without hearing or seeing you……….I believe we are together spiritually and you continue to defend me wherever you are……….You still live in me daddy and you are dearly missed.

She goes on to conclude with the ‘RIP daddy’ tag as she signs off her message that was soon to receive a backlash from fans with many drawing a variety of interpretations.

The interpretations were mainly questioning her motive in using the word daddy given the alleged relationship that the two had.

But that shouldn’t be an issue of concern to us, whether he was her ‘daddy’ as she states or not, and in the absence of such forensics we don’t have the right to state otherwise, do we?

Back to the memorial, as far as I know there wasn’t much going on unlike last year when an event was organised at Leaders’ Club to commemorate this day.

Two years from the day when self professed ‘The Great’ passed on, the industry is not doing well even with huge investments that it is attracting lately.

Unlike in the past, when Kanumba acted as the defining image of the industry none of the compatriots has risen to take up that role after his demise and as a result the industry is wobbly.

As a true symbol of the nascent industry, he pioneered the East West collaborations that saw him feature in ‘Devil’s Kingdom’ with Ramsey Noah a film that attracted a great following both in Tanzania and Nigeria.

Recent efforts by some actors to reach this feat have been only but lukewarm such as when former beauty queen Wema brought in Omotola Jalade at her celebrity event that ended in a mere fiasco as the film could not be viewed because of the filming body’s sanctions.

This though, an attempt was rated as ‘one in a million’ just as far as Wema could go, and by local stats, though it was an isolated one, it wasn’t a failure in any way.

Rose Ndauka’s efforts in Ghana and Nigeria though genuinely an attempt to get a shot at international exposure has done very little to lift the spirits in the local arena.

Equally what was once a healthy completion in the industry just fizzled out, not much is heard of actors such as Raymond Kigosi and others who came to the limelight around the same time.

Mired in confusion, those left behind in what many consider as Africa’s number two in terms of volumes are up in arms picking up trivial issues that they think are worth quarrelling for.

Massive investments in the industry by production companies haven’t helped matters at all as Tanzanian films have continued to fare quite poorly when put in contests with other works from elsewhere.

In fact of the top 20 films on the continent that received mention early this year none was from Bongo movies.

Worse still, the sight of Best Kiswahili film going to Kenya film Mama Duka at the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards must have served as a lesson to learn for whoever cares.

Some of these have left questions amongst the erstwhile fans of these films and from the look of things some intervention is urgently required to end this free fall.

With Kanumba gone the industry is struggling to find a peer leader to steer them out of the current storm, one that is threatening in many spheres.