WeeklySA_AdminTRIBUTE: Weekly SA Mirror’s Priscilla Malinga reminisces about the great times spent with the Afropop star, who recently passed away…
By Priscilla Malinga
I met Winnie Khumalo in 1989 when she came to my school, Namedi High School in Diepkloof, Soweto, after she was told by one of her then backing vocalists, who saw me performing in a school play and recommended me to her.
She was looking for someone who can sing soprano. She came to my school to see me. It was the start of a beautiful everlasting friendship. I felt honoured by the visit as she was a big artist then after her hit song “Hey laaitie”.
My first impression of her was the power she possessed even though she was a humble soul. She had beautiful, curly permed hair, face, and Chinese eyes. She walked like a boss. Her left arm would be lifted to the back a bit. When her feet touched the ground, it was with a gentle step, as if walking barefooted. She invited me to her house in Diepkloof, where she stayed with her parents for an audition. She was looking for someone who could both sing and dance. After the meeting she assured me that she was happy with me. As it was a walking distance to my house, she asked to walk me home as she wanted to see where I lived.
We were both 17 at the time. As we were walking, fans greeted her all the way. And she greeted them back politely with a smile. When we got to my house, my dad was standing on top of the chair in the kitchen fixing something. We greeted him and as he turned, he almost fell when he saw Winnie. I think I almost killed my dad that day, I have never seen anyone so in shock at meeting a star at his house. Little did I know that this was the beginning of an amazing friendship. He called her Dwinki Dwinki like the legendary Kansas City,whose real name was Cyril Mchunu from Radio Zulu back in the day.
I became her backing vocalist and met and shared stages with the likes of Brenda Fassie, Chicco Twala, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Malome Piki Piki and Pure Magic, to name a few. At this one event where we were scheduled to perform, Winnie and I played a little too rough with each other and she fell on her face and got a bump. I was so scared and she was angry with me and had to hide her injured side during her performance. However much I apologised to her, I still felt really bad. She then fired me and said she doesn’t want to see me again.
A few years went and she started calling me again. This time on a friendly basis and we spoke now and then. She got pregnant and had a baby boy, Thando. So I gave her space to raise her child. Two years later, I also got pregnant, at 21. Unfortunately for us, both were left to raise our kids alone. Winnie met Rethabile’s father and it looked like they were getting serious as she even stopped singing because he didn’t want her to continue with music. Things didn’t work out with Rethabile’s dad over some issues, with Winnie getting depressed as a result.
I then heard that she was back home at her grandmother’s house and decided to go check up on her. This was in the late 90’s. When I found her she was very depressed and down. When she saw me she cried and hugged me. I could tell she felt ashamed. I started checking up one her daily as she was trying to get back into the music game again.
She called legendary producer Sizwe Zako first and recorded some gospel songs to get back. I then asked her if she was sure about singing gospel as I knew it wasn’t her thing. The thing is Winnie loved music in general, and she would have been happy singing whichever genre, just as long as she was singing.
We became so close that I even became part of her family. At that point no one else seemed to be around for her, except Sizwe Zako. We were each other’s support system as we raised our kids together. We spoke about everything, we were a tag team, a ride or die. We shared everything including food, and pain and supported each other’s careers and aspirations.
Winnie loved her children and she did everything in her power to raise them alone. She was a better mother than I am. She spent all her time with them. This is why they viewed me as their second mother.
We took them to school and fetched them together, cooked for them and even when things were hard, we would cry during the day, but, when they got home, they would find us laughing.Winnie was naughty, she made a lot of sexual jokes and did so even in front of our kids as she was very open with them about sexuality. We never fought over boys, even those that were trying to date us both.
As in most families coming back home after you had left is not an easy thing. Family squabbles arose and she decided to move out and get her own place. She rented a garage down the road from her grandmother’s house and moved with her kids. At the time she had contacted Oskido asking for help and it didn’t take long for Oskido to agree to help.
She first started by being a backing vocalist for BOP, then Bongo Maffin. She was happy to be back in the game. I went to almost all the shows with her.
After some time she became frustrated and pushed for a single. “Live my life” was recorded with Kalawa Jazzmee in 2008. She worked with Zonke as a songwriter. It was exactly what Winnie needed to get back into the game. She came to me each chance she got, and we would listen to the song.I heard the song for the first time when they were still putting the finishing touches to it. It was catchy. We knew instantly she was back – with a bang.
The line “uGogo wam wathi” came as she felt she wanted to say something about what her grandmother taught her. She was very close to her. So, this one day, while we were listening to the song and trying to figure out what Gogo would actually say to her; she paused, thoght for a moment, and murmured… mmhhh. Oh yes, she recalled, “Gogo said I must stay away from boys”. We both burst into loud laughter, and decided to leave it all to Zonke the professional. We did a lot together, even chased boys to their girlfriends’ homes. We were inseparable.
At the time of her passing, she lived with Rethabile, Thando having already gotten married and moved out of the house. Her health was on and off for a long time as she battled ulcers. The doctors told her that her ulcers had worsened. Rethabile said she vomited a lot of blood. We would stop talking to each other from time to time, but we always vowed to grow old together.
I am going to miss her craziness, stubbornness, beautiful voice and talent. Her loud contagious laugh. Most of all, our sisterhood. The best friend I ever had.
May her beautiful soul rest in peace.
