Zex Manatsa
Zex Manatsa is a retired male Zimbabwean singer, songwriter, and bass player. He is known for attracting a 50 000 crowd to witness his wedding at Rufaro Stadium in 1979 in Harare. He was also part of the musicians who sang during the attainment of Independence in 1980 alongside reggae icon Bob Marley. Zex Manatsa was born on 1 January 1944 and married to Stella Manatsa (nee Katehwe) with whom they had a wedding in 1979 at Rufaro Stadium in Harare. He has six sons and all are into music, Green, Aaron, Tendai Manatsa, Freedom, Shingirai and Taku Zex Jr. He has 12 grandchildren and of the 12 the 3 oldest boys have already started showing interest in music and showcasing their talent on drums, acoustic and vocals. Aaron Jr has been recently recruited to be part of the Prince Edward School's jazz band where he is attending school. At one time he got a job at a confectionery company in Bulawayo. Zex and his wife gave their lives to Jesus in 1994 and both enrolled for theological training a year later and became ZAOGA Church pastors in 1998. They have been serving the church since then and they are now retired pastors who were assigned pastoral role for the Westgate branch of the church at the time of their retirement. He rose to prominence in the 1970s with his musical outfit, the Green Arrows Band, which he started in Mhangura, Zimbabwe in 1968. In the 1970s and 80s, Zex released many tracks which have proved to be all-time hits such as “Chipo Chiroorwa”, “Bambo Mwakwatila”, “Vaparidzi Vawanda”, “Mwana Waenda”, “Chechule Anavala Bottom”, and “Chimwamuna Chamimba”. At the peak of his career, Zex inspired many musicians of his era such as who Oliver Mtukudzi (Late), James Chimombe (Late), Lovemore Majaivana, Tinei Chikupo, Leonard Dembo (Late), Thomas Mapfumo and Simon Chimbetu (Late). In fact, he played a key role in giving guidance and support for success to many top Zimbabwean musicians including those mentioned above. His music career was cut short after an accident that almost took his life in 1984 after the band's pace started to slow down coupled with deaths of some of the group's founding members and their popularity declined. He had to later on convert to Christianity and started to pursue religious work.
