Edith WeUtonga

Edith WeUtonga
Born	Edith Katiji (1979-04-12) April 12, 1979 (age 45) Kadoma
Nationality	Zimbabwe
Occupation	Songwriter Musician.
Years active	2006 to present
Spouse(s)	Elton Mjanana

Edith WeUtonga is a Zimbabwean born musician and songwriter. She is the lead singer of the band Utonga hence the name Edith WeUtonga (Edith of Utonga). She is well known for being one of the very few women locally who play the bass guitar. She has often been referred to as a jazz artist while others have characterised her genre as contemporary traditional music.

Background

WeUtonga was born Edith Katiji in Kadoma on 22 April 1979.^[1] She is the first born in a family of five, she spent her early childhood in Cranborne where the father was a member of the army. WeUtonga did her Chedonje Primary School before transferring to moving back to Kadoma where she finished off her primary education. For her secondary education, she attended Townsend Girls High School. She is a married to Elton Mjanana and mother of four.

Music career

Edith's music career started when she joined the Army School of Music. She was to later joining the Army Band at Brady Barracks as one of the vocalists.^[1] After a short stint, she moved to Bulawayo where she joined Amakhosi and became part of productions such as Raisedon Baya’s Tomorrow’s People. Besides engagements with Amakhosi she was also heavily involved with Wonder Guchu’s "Alone But Together", and Tawanda Kanengoni’s HIFA debut of "Silent Words". She was at one point part of a band called Amakhosikazi as the bass guitarist but it later disintegrated in 2006. It was not until her move to Harare that she started playing at venues such as the Book Cafe, Jazz 105, Sports Diner and The Kraal She is the leader of the Band Utonga which according to her means dawn. She has released two albums which have seen her being nominated for NAMA.