Contributor:
Alamjit Singh
Source:
The Age
Posted: 18-6-2009
Paul Mbenna a great pop star Tanzania is telling his story to Liza Power of The Age about his journey of success from Tanzania to Australia. He will perform in Fitzroy Town Hall on Refugee week this Sunday.
A pop star in Africa, a community worker in Melbourne, Paul Mbenna has mentored a new wave of African-Australian acts. He speaks with Liza Power.
PAUL Mbenna was a chart-topping pop star before he left Tanzania for Australia two years ago. The song for which he is best known, not simply in Dar es Salaam, where he was born, but throughout east Africa, is called Zuwena. Sung in Swahili and set to his homeland's distinctive bongo flava rhythm, its tale of tragedy-struck love rode the airwaves of Burundi, Congo, Kenya, Uganda and Mozambique to widespread acclaim.
It was this success, along with the sadness of leaving his family, that made the 34-year-old's decision to move to Australia all the more difficult. With a degree in development studies and a background in social work, he was confident of finding employment. His greatest fear, however, was that crossing the Indian Ocean might spell the end of his singing career.
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