Evison Matafale (20 November 1969 – 27 November 2001) was a

Malawian This article is about the demographic features of the population of Malawi, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Malawi de ...

Rastafarian Rastafari, sometimes called Rastafarianism, is a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control ...

whose music rose to popularity in Malawi. He was the founder and leader of the

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

band

Black Missionaries Black Missionaries are a popular reggae band from the Malawi. The band is primarily active in the city of Blantyre, and members reside in Chileka. The band originally had five members, namely Evison Matafale, Peter Amidu, and three of the seven s ...

. Matafale rose to fame and became one of Malawi's favourite musicians by 2000 through the release of his debut album, ''Kuimba 1'', in 1999 with Wailing Brothers Band. Matafale was known as "the prophet" in Malawi and was seen as an elder amongst the community of Malawian Rastafarians. He later disappeared from the public scene as he was diagnosed with

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

and forced to cut his

dreadlocks Dreadlocks, also known as locs or dreads, are rope-like strands of hair formed by locking or braiding hair. Origins Some of the earliest depictions of dreadlocks date back as far as 1600–1500 BCE in the Minoan Civilization, one of Europe' ...

in order to get medical treatment. He died at the age of 32 in police custody in 2001. He was known for his two albums Kuyimba 1 (1999) and Kuyimba 2 (2001) when he died. Evison Matafale founded and led the reggae band based in his home town of Chileka.

Rastafarian

Matafale was a Rastafarian who wore

. Matafale blended his music with a more serious political message with their Rasta philosophy and words of peace, love, and unity in Malawi.

Political Activism

He was an outspoken political activist in Malawi. His music reflects his views against the policies of the Muluzi government. His brother, Elton, told journalists the singer was arrested and tortured by the police. Prior to his arrest he had written a series of letters to President

Bakili Muluzi Elson Bakili Muluzi (born March 17, 1943 in Machinga, Nyasaland) is a Malawian politician who was the first freely elected president of Malawi from 1994 to 2004. He was also chairman of the United Democratic Front (UDF) until 2009. He succeeded ...

denouncing his government's policies. In the letters he wrote he denounced the president's preferential treatment of Muslims and Asian traders and accused him of exploiting ordinary Malawians. He called for respect for all people of Malawi.

Arrest and Detainment

He was arrested on 24 November 2001 after writing a series of complaint letters to the Muluzi government and detained at Maula Prison. At the time of his arrest, he had a dispute with an Asian Merchant in Malawi and was also suffering from

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

. He was taken into custody to be questioned and the police assured his mother that this was routine and that he would be released in a few hours. He was transferred to

Lilongwe Lilongwe (, , ) is the capital and most populated city of the African country of Malawi. It has a population of 989,318 as of the 2018 Census, up from a population of 674,448 in 2008. In 2020 that figure was 1,122,000. The city is located in th ...

overnight, however, and according to his autopsy report at Lilongwe Central Hospital by administrator Charles Mwasambo, they revealed that Matafale died of severe

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

. He stated that there was no evidence of torture. There was an investigation into the claims of police negligence since he died of natural causes due to an illness while in police custody.

Funeral

Thousands of Malawians had attended the funeral of the artist after his sudden death in prison. It is estimated that more than 10,000 descended to the town of Chileka near

Blantyre Blantyre () is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, and its second largest city, with an enumerated 800,264 inhabitants . It is sometimes referred to as the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, L ...

for his funeral, though it was dreadlocked members of the Rastafarian community in Malawi that dominated the ceremony, turning it into a celebration of his life. Matafale himself had made a prophecy about his death, stating that:

"I don't fear death because my Bible tells me that I should fear the one that kills both body and spirit, not the body alone."

Family

He is survived by a daughter.

Honours

In 2010 on Independence Day, President

Bingu wa Mutharika Bingu wa Mutharika (; born Brightson Webster Ryson Thom; 24 February 1934 – 5 April 2012) was a Malawian politician and economist who was President of Malawi from May 2004 until his death in April 2012. He was also President of the Democ ...

awarded Matafale the Achiever of Malawi Order of National Achiever Award, and a gift of money to his family. His uncle, Charles Gunsaru, expressed the family’s gratitude and said the bereaved family regarded it as an honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matafale, Evison 1969 births 2001 deaths 20th-century Malawian male singers Malawian human rights activists Malawian Rastafarians Performers of Rastafarian music Prisoners who died in Malawian detention