Legendary musician Sir Paul Banda said yesterday that he is hopeful that a day will come when he will entertain people with performances once he recovers to the fullest.
The ‘Zonse Nzabwino’ maker has been out of the stage for close to four years now due to his health.
“I am used to the stage but I cannot do it now. God is good all the time, I hope to get back someday,” the artist said.
The legendary musician has kidney complications and, so, he goes for dialysis twice a week at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre.
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Kidney dialysis is the process of removing excess water, solutes and toxins from the blood in people whose kidneys can no longer perform these functions naturally.
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At first, he used to come from Balaka but it turned out to be a ‘big’ challenge and that there were spells he would miss dialysis sessions and his condition would get worse.
“The time I failed to go was when we were having the frequent fuel shortages and my brother Lucius supported me greatly. And, so, to avoid missing the sessions, I decided to move to Blantyre to be closer to the hospital,” he said yesterday at Chatha, Chileka, after Musicians Union of Malawi (Mum) Eastern Region chapter team led by its chairperson Thom Damba Jr paid him a visit.
Damba, accompanied by Coss Chiwalo, Mum Secretary General Toney Chitimatima and Mum Women’s Desk chairperson Mable Lwanda, visited the legendary musician to donate over K500,000 realised from last Saturday’s fundraising concert which was held at Mlambe Motel in Balaka.
Due to his health, Sir Paul Banda did not make it to the fundraising concert that attracted performances from several artists, who starred for free.
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“People made pledges during the concert but some of these pledges are yet to be satisfied. So, with the cash that we had, we decided to hand it over as we wait for the pledges to be fulfilled. We realise that Sir Paul Banda needs funds for transport to access treatment,” he said.
Sir Paul Banda said he was short of words for the support.
“I am thankful for the love from Malawians, my brother and all musicians,” he said.
During the handover of the funds, Sir Paul Banda, who recently was decorated with the Maso Award’s Lifetime Achievement award, also received materials such as T/ shirt and badge for the 45th anniversary of Alleluya Band, a music group he led for years before he went solo.
Chiwalo, who is one of the oldest members of the group, handed over the materials.
“He is a legend and since he could not make it to the anniversary, we decided to bring him some of the 45th anniversary materials,” Chiwalo, who is also expected to travel to Italy later this month, said.
