Paris and Cameron are this moment mourning the sudden death of N’Djoké Dibango, alias Manu Debango, a Cameroonian musician and songwriter who played saxophone and vibraphone, after he contracting coronavirus.
Thierry Durepaire, his music publisher, said that he died on Tuesday in a hospital in Paris.
Confirming his death, his family in a statement released on his official Facebook account stated that his funeral will take place in strict privacy while a public memorial service would be fixed later.
The statement read, “It is with deep sadness that we announce to you the loss of Manu Dibango, our Papy Groove who passed away on 24 March 2020, at 86 years old, because of Covid-19.
”His funeral service will be held in strict privacy, and a tribute to his memory will be organized when possible.”
The veteran Afro-Jazz was best known for his 1972 song ‘Soul Makossa’.
He worked with notable stars such as South Africa’s Ladysmith Black Mambazo and American Herbie Hancock and also won an all African Music Legend Award.
Recall that the deadly coronavirus broke out from Wuhan province of China towards the end of 2019 and has spread across 27 countries leading to over 12,000 deaths globally
Meanwhile, Nigeria on Monday confirmed its first coronavirus death.
The death was confirmed by the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC)