Zim gospel singer John Mutoko dead at 44

Born on 26 November 1974 in Masvingo to pastors Gladys and Bishop JT Mutoko, the singer died in Dubai about 6am this morning after succumbing to colon cancer .

Music In Africa spoke to family spokesperson Potripha Zariro who said they would release more details about his death.

Best known as Captain Fantastic, Mutoko started singing in church at a tender age. He joined the music industry in 1997 while in Cuba when he and a friend, John Tumbare, formed a band called the Voice of Johns.

“I was inspired by Steven Suluma, the husband to Shingisai, during the time we were together in Havana, Cuba," Mutoko told New Zimbabwe.com in 2011. "He briefly taught me how to play keyboard. I basically learnt to play keyboard using his small 49-key keyboard, yet it made such an impact,” 

In 2015 he told the The Standard: “I started singing when I was very young and the musicians who inspired me were secular musicians. I had a lot of respect for the late Marshall Munhumumwe and Leonard Dembo." 

The ‘Zvimwe Zvinoda Munamato’ hitmaker released no less than five albums until the time of his death: 1 Samuel 7:12 (2004), Mwari Vakatendeka (2007), The Valley of Dry Bones (2008), The Voice of Silence (2009) and Adelante (2011).

Mutoko's songs gained the musicians recognition in the industry and this saw him working with artists such as Bethen Pasinawako-Ngolomi, Aluwis Machapo, Paul Kuzinya, Elvis Gumorazvo and Rogers Fatiya.