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Bongani Ndlovu Showbiz Correspondent
MAKOKOBA Rhumba Sounds on Saturday won the Bulawayo Chibuku Road to Fame provincial finals beating nine other groups to book a place in the national finals to be held in Harare.

The national finals will be held on September 22 at Glamis stadium.

The seven member group got 137.5 points and went home with $1,000 in cash after relegating United Shining Big Seven who got 124.5 points and WhatsApp Signal 118 points into second and third place respectively.

So stiff was the competition at Manor Hotel that Facebook Brothers, who represented Bulawayo province at the Road to Fame national finals last year, failed to make the cut.

Addressing a packed venue before announcing the results, National Arts Council of Zimbabwe Bulawayo provincial programmes officer William Nyandoro applauded all groups who took part in the competition.

“Artistes who took part in this year’s competition should be congratulated because they all performed well. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to come here and perform at a competition of such magnitude,” said Nyandoro.

He encouraged up and coming groups to enter the competition next year to make it more exciting.

“The up and coming groups should seize such opportunities to make a name for themselves. So next year we expect the competition to be more competitive and bigger,” said Nyandoro.

He wished Makokoba Rhumba Sounds all the best in the national finals.

As part of the entertainment, Ndux Junior and Clement Magwaza brought the house down with their electrifying performances. The two Tshibilika artistes took to the stage and left the packed venue in awe.

Magwaza, who is known for his hit song Kokotsha, was a marvel to watch when he took over the reins after the winners had been announced.

His three hour performance was fast paced and unrelenting like the music he sings.

Other groups that participated at the competition were United Shining, Voice of Glory, Kidzy’s Collection, King Lion Express, African Tribe, Dakamela Super Sounds and Amahlosi Kings Band.

The Chibuku Road to Fame provincial finals will move to Mashonaland West in Chinhoyi on August 8. Masvingo will hold its finals on August 15 at Eden Bar followed by Matabeleland South on August 22 at Colleen Bawn beerhall. Harare finals will be held in Chitungwiza on August 22 at Chibuku Stadium followed by Matabeleland North on August 29 in Hwange at Jabulani Beerhall. The last provincial finals will be conducted in Mashonaland Central on September 5. Founded in 2001, the music talent identification programme, which is in its 15th year, will see the 10 groups performing sungura, tshibilika, afro jazz, rhumba, museve and tshova tshova music.