Cameroonian Afro-jazz legend Manu Dibango, real name Emmanuel N’Djoke Dibango, died after he contracted the coronavirus. The 86-year-old “Big Blow” musician died on Tuesday morning at a hospital outside Paris, France, according to AFP.
The musician’s family, who is best known for the 1972 hit “Soul Makossa”, announced on his Facebook page last week that he had been admitted to hospital after contracting the virus. On Tuesday, they announced in French that the jazz star had passed away, confirming it was due to coronavirus.
“Cher public, chers amis, Nous portons à votre information qu’après une récente hospitalisation due au Covid 19, Manu Dibango se repose et récupère dans la sérénité. Il vous demande de respecter son intimité. Il se réjouit d’avance de vous retrouver prochainement et vous demande, en cette période troublée que nous traversons tous, de bien prendre soin de vous. Amicalement ! This translates to: “Dear family, dear friends, dear fans, A voice raises from far away…
It is with deep sadness that we announce the loss of Manu Dibango, our Papy Groove, who passed away on 24th of March 2020, at 86 years old, due to Covid-19. His funeral service will be held in private, and a tribute to his memory will be organised when possible.
In other news – The role of SANDF during the lockdown
The army will be deployed to support the South African Police Service to enforce the nationwide lockdown. President Cyril Ramaphhosa announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown from midnight on Thursday. Military analyst Helmoed Heitman said the role of SANDF members could vary, depending on the assistance needed by the police. They have been talking about closing down parts of the road network, to prevent people from moving much. For instance, the army could man vehicle checkpoints.
The other stuff includes if the police have a problem somewhere and they could help them with that but it could go beyond that if there is an unrest problem then because people assume the shops will run out of stocks and they could be deployed to protect shops and hospitals”, said Heitman. Heitman said there is no reason for people to fear because the army will most likely be using minimum force. Read more
Source: ghanagh
