The Zimbabwean music industry is in mourning after the tragic death of two members of the popular Tshibilika group Insimbi ZeZhwane on Saturday morning.

Elvis Mathe, known to the band’s followers as ‘MaEli’, and Thembinkosi ‘Maviri’ Mpofu, the group’s drummer, were killed in a road accident near the Fatima High School turn-off on the Victoria Falls-Bulawayo highway.

The duo was travelling with nine other people from Binga to Harare via Bulawayo in a Toyota Hilux with foreign number plates when the vehicle burst a tyre and hit a tree, police said.

One person died on the spot and 10 others were injured. Mpofu succumbed to his injuries at St Luke’s Hospital where the survivors are being treated.

The group’s manager, Bahlanu Sibanda, confirmed the deaths of Mathe and Mpofu, who were part of the original line-up of Insimbi ZeZhwane.

Insimbi ZeZhwane, a rhumba group formed in South Africa by Mathe and Meluleki ‘Brema’ Moyo, quickly rose to fame with their catchy albums such as Diki Diki, Imbemba, Inhlanzi encane, Iseqamgwaqo, Iginyambila, Impande yeminyela and the 2022 album umshosha phansi, which featured the popular track GPS.

The group received recognition for their music at various awards ceremonies. In 2021 they won the Outstanding Tshibilika/Rhumba Act at the Roil Bulawayo arts awards. They also won the Best Tshibilika category at the 2023 Zimbabwe Music awards held in Harare in June.

The group recently faced controversy after performing at a Zanu PF rally in Nkayi and wearing the ruling party’s regalia for pictures. They later explained on their Facebook page that they were not involved in politics and that they would perform for any party that paid them. 

Fans and fellow musicians have expressed their shock and sadness over the death of Mathe and Mpofu on social media. They have praised them as talented, humble and hardworking artists who enriched the Zimbabwean music scene.