By Benjamin Maona, contributor:
Celebrated musician Onesimus, who is trending with his romantic hit ‘Controller’, on Saturday preached against gender-based violence (GBV) during his set at the Pomme Breeze alcoholic beverage launch party.
The event was powered by Castel Malawi and driven by Entertainers Promotions at Bingu International Convention Centre in Lilongwe.
Onesimus—who shared the stage with acts such as Praise Umali of the ‘Ku Tiyeni’ fame and South Africa’s Queen of Amapiano Nkosazana Daughter, said there was no space for violence in the society.
He also emphasised the importance of embracing love.
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The artist then went on to serve the track ‘Solomon’, which speaks against GBV, with the audience singing along.
Within his one-hour energetic performance, the firebrand artist paused to introduce the ‘Solomon’ track, fondly known by many as ‘Mkazi Sitimenya’, using it to preach against GBV.
In the song, the artist hits at an abusive man who has turned his wife into a punching bag and is likened to America’s martial and action movie actors Jean Claude Van-Damme and Sylvester Stallone (Rambo), respectively.
“The time I was writing this song some two years ago, we had lots of gender-based violence cases in Malawi and I wanted to address that. It is not on for a man to lay his hand on a woman. Women are meant to be loved and I want to apologise to all women on behalf of men,” he said, as womenfolk cheered on.
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Performing just before Nkosazana Daughter, Onesimus, who is also known as African Butter, rekindled memories of the time he dished out songs such as ‘Ndamusowa’.
He concocted the song when he was running with the name Armstrong.
Other songs that he offered included ‘Sindidzakuswera Mtima’ and ‘Panado’ but it was his trending hit, ‘Controller’, that dominated.
Before Onesimus, singer and guitarist Praise Umali mesmerised fans with his top-notch performance.
There were surprise performances from rapper Gwamba and R&B star Kelly Kay, who joined Umali on stage to perform songs in which he collaborated with them.
The songs included ‘Plan’ and ‘Ku Tiyeni’, which he performed following demand from the audience.
Nkosazana Daughter wrapped up the event with her short but thrilling performance where, apart from singing; she won the hearts of people with her dance moves.
The Amapiano queen, performing in the country for the second time, offered songs such as ‘Keneliwe’, ‘Makhelwane’ and ‘Amaphutha’.
Meanwhile, people have welcomed Apple flavoured Pomme Breeze, a new alcoholic product by Castel Malawi.
