By Jonathan Mbiriyamveka
BULAWAYO — The stage was set. The choir was robed.
And when Minister Everton Mlalazi stepped into the spotlight, dressed in a matching blue tuxedo that gleamed under the festival lights, the thousands gathered at this year’s Ekhaya Worship Festival knew they were in for something special.
They were not disappointed.
Zimbabwe’s multi-award-winning worship singer, still glowing from a recently celebrated birthday, delivered a set that was equal parts revival, family showcase, and musical masterclass.
By the time he left the stage, the multi-award-winning singer was so overwhelmed that he could barely find the words.
Mrs Gamu Mlalazi the manager
“BULAWAYO, my heart is full,” Mlalazi wrote on Instagram shortly after his performance, punctuating the post with a hearty emoji.
He didn’t say much more. He didn’t need to. The thousands who packed the festival grounds would attest that the atmosphere was nothing short of electrifying.
From the opening notes to the final crescendo, the festival delivered exactly what organisers had promised: a night dedicated to lifting the name of Jesus higher. There was music, there was food, there were gifts, and there was the word of God. But the night belonged to Mlalazi.
And Mlalazi brought his whole family along for the ride.
His wife, Gamu, decked out in a stunning long green dress paired with matching Gucci sneakers — because worship, after all, can also be stylish — took a moment to address the crowd.
She played a video clip showcasing the family’s charity work, feeding and clothing the less privileged. It was a reminder that for the Mlalazis, worship is not just what happens on stage.
Then came the moment that set social media ablaze.
Mlalazi’s daughter, Keisha, stepped forward and opened her father’s set in spectacular fashion — playing the marimba, leading the band into a powerful fusion of song and dance.
Mlalazi’ daughter Keisha plays marimba much to the delight of worshippers
The crowd roared its approval. The choir joined in. The music exploded. And Minister Mlalazi, smiling from ear to ear, launched into a set that blended new hits with sing-along classics that resonated deep in the bones of every worshipper present.
But the night had one more detonation to come.
When Oncemore Six joined Mlalazi on stage for their collaboration track, Muri Mutsvene, the festival grounds turned into a frenzy of praise and worship.
The song hit every right chord, delivered with the unmistakable fire that Oncemore Six brings to every performance.
Hands went up. Voices joined as one. For those few minutes, nothing else existed but the music and the moment.
“Man oh man,” one fan was overheard saying after the set. “That song alone was worth the ticket.”
As all good things must come to an end, Mlalazi’s set concluded on a soaring high note, making way for the next performer, Takesure Zamar.
But the crowd took a long moment to catch their breath, still processing what they had just witnessed.
Mlalazi may have been short on words after the show. But his performance had spoken volumes.
“My heart is full,” he wrote.
Looking at the smiles, the tears, and the lifted hands in that Bulawayo crowd, he was not the only one.
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