East Africa’s First Lady of gospel

By Brenda Kageni

Even before the MC at the 2009 Groove Awards ceremony finished reading out the nominated entries for Artist of the Year from Tanzania, the crowd had begun chanting "Rose Muhando, Rose Muhando…" Not surprisingly, Muhando of Mteule Uwe Macho fame won the coveted title. The singer, famous for her strong, emotional voice, vibrant stage performance and her energetic dance troupe enjoys enormous popularity in Kenya, in her home country Tanzania and in other East and Central African countries. Her 2008 hit Nibebe from the album Jipange Sawa Sawa makes her undisputedly the biggest female gospel artiste in the region.