Radio legend Sibanda honoured at Afro-Brits Awards

Radio legend Sibanda honoured at Afro-Brits Awards

LEGEND: Ezra Tshisa Sibanda (left) at the Afro-Brits Awards

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By Staff Reporter

ZIMBABWEAN radio legend Ezra Tshisa Sibanda has been honoured for his Contribution to Music and Entertainment at the Afro-Brits Awards held in Leeds last Saturday.

Zimbabwe national soccer team skipper Benjani Mwaruwari received a gong for Male Achiever of the Year, and SW Radio Africa won Best Contribution to News Media.

Mwaruwari, recovering from a thigh strain, had a friend pick up the award for him after he left for Zimbabwe last Friday for a 10-day break given to him by his club, Manchester City.

Sibanda, a former ZBC Radio 2 favourite whose voice can now be heard on Afro Sounds FM and the Voice of Africa Radio in London compered the glittering event also attended by the Lord Mayor and Lord Mayoress of Leeds and councillors.

He said after receiving his honour: “I have been on radio for all my adult life and it is always gratifying to see your contribution noticed. I am particularly grateful to my listeners who have allowed me to talk to them in their private moments, in their houses, for all these years. It’s a tremendous honour.”

The Afro-Brits awards are the brainchild of Zimbabwean entrepreneur, Nkosinathi Zvimba.

Organisers said the winners were selected via an online voting system which was IP sensitive. Some 10 000 members of the African-British community are said to have voted.

Dr Tsitsi Chataika a former educationist at Jairos Jiri School for the Blind in Zimbabwe and now an Honorary Research Fellow at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) was awarded the Female Achiever of the Year in a category that included broadcasters Violet Gonda and Gerry Jackson, writers Doris Lessing, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Margaret Kamau.

Dr Chataika also scooped another award for her Contribution to Education in Zimbabwe and the UK as she has been involved with several projects driving education to the disabled.

Other winners were Bishop Levi Bailey (Art and Religion), Thembi's Mini Shop (Business), Theatre Under Fire (Arts and Culture), Mafaro.com (Electronic Media), Nelson Mandela (Best African Leader), Kenyan TV SixOone (Media - Community Organisation) and Ritz Recruitment (Best Company to Work For).

Urban grooves singer Decibel performed on the night.
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