The Sunday News
Bruce Ndlovu
FORMER Kalawa Jazzme wordsmith Delaney “Diliza” Dondo ended the last festive season on a sour note as a chest infection drove him from the stage straight to the hospital bed.
As is customary, the kwaito star was in the country during the festive season and was billed as one of the acts set to perform at his former boss Oskido’s downsized Kalawa Homecoming on 27 December.
However, after a few days during which his family had become worried about his health, the musician barely scrapped through the Homecoming, performing as a DJ as his poor health could not let him perform alongside fellow members of Stiff, his South African based group.
According to the kwaito lyricist, his grandmother raised the alarm on Boxing Day when she saw that he was not his usual self.
“My grandmother was the one that helped me. It was 26 December and I thought that I just had a hangover but she told me that I was not myself. If I was not at home for the holidays and in South Africa instead, I probably would have died because I would have been taking things easy,” he said.
The musician said he had spent the last few weeks recuperating, although he felt drained. The condition meant that his heart also could not function properly. The musician said he had nearly died on 14 January, the same day that his young sister had passed away suddenly on two years ago.
