By Staff Reporter
MUSICIAN Selmor has said she was overwhelmed by emotions after going to her father Oliver Mtukudzi’s Pakare Paye Arts Centre for the first time since he died in 2019.
Selmor broke down and walked off stage during her performance at the late Oliver Mtukudzi International Festival of Arts (OMIFA) last Saturday. She had initially been excluded from the event’s line-up leading to a public outcry and her eventual inclusion.
Many went on to criticize her on social media for not respecting her father Oliver Mtukudzi’s legacy and making the event “about her”.
Speaking in an interview with radio personality DJ Ollah, Selmor said her band had prepared and rehearsed for the event, but she was overwhelmed by emotions and couldn’t complete her performance.
She also said that since her father’s death, she had never returned to Pakare Paye, as her stepmother Daisy had blocked all her efforts to perform there.
“This was my first time setting foot at Pakare Paye since my father died, and it brought back all the memories we had. Walking onto that stage and people screaming at me, I just wished my dad was still alive.
“To finally have that moment meant a lot to me, we did everything, we rehearsed, but we were overwhelmed. We were taken back to the day our father died,” she said.
Selmor added that she still did not know why her stepmother, who had organised the event in Tuku’s honour, had initially left her out.
