CAUSE OF DEATH: Fans mourn as musician, Tshala Muana, has died

The famous Congolese singer and dancer Tshala Muana has died at the age of 64, according to her producer and companion, Claude Mashala.

“In the early hours of this morning the good Lord has made the decision to call back Tshala Muana,” he posted on Facebook.

Tshala Muana is considered the “Queen of Mutuashi”, a traditional music and dance from her native Kasai region.

She was famous for several songs such as Karibu Yangu, Malu and Tshianza.She had toured widely overseas, won several awards on the national, continental and global scene and had recorded over 20 albums.

Her music also appeared in the soundtrack of the popular 1987 Congolese musical film La Vie est Belle and Aya of Yop City.

Muana, whose real name was Élisabeth Tshala Muana Muidikay, was also often affectionately called “Mamu National”, which means the nation’s mother, for her vocal defence of the rights of women and children in the Congolese parliament.

Congolese people online have been mourning her death, including former presidential candidate, Seth Kikuni, who thanked her for her work and “great contribution to the Congolese culture”.

In June 2020 she was rumoured to have died, but was instead hospitalised after a stroke.

She was known to be a supporter of DR Congo’s ex-president Joseph Kabila and his party – the People’s Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD).

She was arrested in 2020 by President Félix Tshisekedi’s government, reportedly for her song “Ingratitude” which was believed to be critical of an unnamed leader.

The artiste, whose official name is Élizabeth Tshala Muana Muidikay, died on Saturday morning, December 10 in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Claude Mashala, the musician’s producer, was the first to break the news of her death.

“This morning, God took the life of Tshala Muana. May her soul rest in peace,” said Mashala on his official Facebook page.

Muana had been in hospital for a week. She succumbed to respiratory complications, her producer Mashala, who is also her spouse, said.

“She passed on at 2am today (Saturday, December 10),” Masala told The Standard.

DR-Congo’s largest news site 7sur7 reported Saturday that the musician’s body was taken to the Cinquantenaire Hospital morgue in Kinshasa.

The outlet further said that Muana’s relative, Jean-Marie Kassamba, confirmed to 7sur7 news of her death….

Seth Kikuni, a businessman and politician in DRC who unsuccessfully ran for presidency in 2018, said on Twitter that Muana “contributed greatly to the Congolese culture”.

Pascal Mulegwa, a Kinshasa-based journalist with Radio France Internationale (RFI), said on Twitter that Muana died in the DRC capital, Kinshasa, after “ailing for a while”.

Muana, also known by the moniker the Queen of Mutuashi, started her music career as a dancer for the band Tsheke Tsheke Love in 1977.

Mutuashi is dance and rhythm from southeastern DR-Congo, popularised by Tshala Muana.

The multi-award winning musician is famous for several songs such as Karibu Yangu, Dezo Dezo, Kokola, Malu, Tshianza and Tshibola.