By Rex Mphisa
BEITBRIDGE residents are mourning Bra Joe born Jonah Rex Kamwendo who passed on over the weekend.
Bra Joe, as he was popularly known, was a free spirit, a man about town and a well travelled man of many talents, friends and good people – black or white.
Born in 1949, Bra Joe grew up in then Rhodesia and went to school in Beitnridge, Loius Tritchardt and oher places his son Joy would not remember.
“Lets say he grew up in Beitbridge, but he went to school in South Africa whe he also worked during part of his life. Dad was a mechanic by profession and at one time was employed by the Army repairing military tanks,” Joy told Ziyah News Network.
“He also worked for Total Johannesburg and operated at many of that company’s service stations,” said Joy.
He said his father had three children, his two sisters Angel, Elsie and himself, said Joy.
“He never rrally showed us he was unwell and contnued soldiering on although it was evident he was in pain,” he said.
Joy whose friends, neighbours sat on a night vigil with him on Monday said his dad would spend lots of times on television with kids from the neighbourhood, watch television with them or carry them around town in his van.
A neighbour described him as a “daycare centre” for lonely children for whom he bought goodies and enjoyed being in rheir surroundings.
He would play loud jazz music with the children.
Musician and board member of Lotsha FM Prince Adrie said Bra Joe was also known as Baa Baa Black Sheep.
“That’s how we knew him as youths, he would stop us and start teaching us the song when we were kids and we all loved it in our days as young boys going to primaty school,” said Prince Adrie.
“We would gather around him and sing. He made us happy and would run to him,” he said.
Ward 4 councillor Emmanuel Takutaku said his ward had been thrown into the deep end losing a giant in his own right.
“Firstly bra Joe was an ever jovial man .He loved children very much.You could find him driving his car around ,full of kids,” said Takutaku.
“Bra Joe was someone who loved to be part of everything that was happening in the society. I remember when we started the neighborhood watch committee back in 2023. He was one of the few people who paid first and encouraged others to embrace the idea,” he said.
“However he was a no-nonsense person. He didn’t want anyone to play with his mind He was a man of his word. His no was a no and he was good to be around with,” said Takutaku.
Members in several social media groups in Beitbridge reacted with sadness at the announcement of Bra joe’s passing.
In War 2 Beji Muleya made the announcement responded to by several Beitbridge residents.
Bra Joe is gone, yes, but his economic decision brought his former employer at Bon Voyage Service Station Rudolf Van de Merwe’s Rank Spar when the late bra Joe parted with his land where the giant shop stands today.
His music will play on as he is laid to rest at Makhakhavhule Cemetery on Thursday morning when Beitbridge bids farewell to a lover of Jazz, children and life.
Adios Amigo braJoe, so long. Let the music play on.