We continue with former Dalom Kids’ front lady Jacqueline Rotwana. Read Part I here.
My new book, Thole likaMthwakazi, about Bulawayo’s contributions to music in the world, is due 27 November 2025.
<10 min read time>
“We literally, were, kids”.
The First Passport Stamp of…
Zimbabwe.
The Dalom Kids of…
David Seagal sold us to Gallo in a very nice way and remember that back in those days, you needed to invest in recording a demo, follow a submission process, and wait for a verdict of a signing deal or not. Dave Pennel and the team at Gallo came to hear us and we were signed just like that.
The late Brenda Fassie heard us and she said to Patricia Majalisa: “Yhu, yhu, yhu Nontombizangoku! Ubatholaphi labantwana abapesuka kangaka? Abaqushalazi nje!” (Where did you find these kids who can dance like this? They’ve got some moves!). Nontombizangoku was Patricia’s Xhosa homeland name (Xhosa-land has given us a roster of top-billed songbirds: from Bulawayo’s Dorothy Masuka to Miriam Makeba, Margaret Singana to Brenda Fassie and Patricia Majalisa, Jacqueline Rotwana herself to Unathi Nkayi, Thandiswa Mazwai to Simphiwe Dana, Siphokazi to Zahara – SJ).
Everyone labelled us ‘kids’.
Dan was then given a chance to produce music by Gallo. With the addition of third member Martha Mzima and Dan’s nickname “Dalom”, Dalom Kids was born with the album Mbalembale (1989). Israel Mohlanke is the one who gave him the name Dalom and we were called “abantwana baka-Dan”.
The Dodging School of…
I used to bunk school for music and yet I was very good at school. That used to drive my father crazy. Yhooo, my dad! We would fight! His cousin Sis’ Winnie, MaiNdemera, had left South Africa, married and lived in Highfield, Harare (then Salisbury – SJ), and so my dad demanded that I be sent there athi, “Akuna ma-katari ngalena, ngeke acule!” (There won’t be any of this Johannesburg music industry there!) [Highfield was a black urban location which attracted a wave of Mthwakazi people, as well as South African brides who had met some of the would-be freedom fighters in universities. Politicians in their own right, some of these women included Victoria Fikile Chitepo and Ruth Nomonde Chinamano – SJ].
And you know Xhosa women; my mother wouldn’t have any of it! “Soze!”. My dad used to call her “Havoc!”. She passed away in 2012. When I came home with the Gold Record Sales plaque, that is when he understood. Yoh, my stories are long.
SJ: The reason why I tracked you is because I have always thought: “Sis’ Jackie owes us a big book!”. Siyacela!
I have been hesitant. I am very private. At least you have made me reveal things I have never done before.
The Dan Tshanda of…
He once found me and Petronella playing karate with the security guard when we were supposed to be in rehearsal! He had left an instruction that we should master our backing vocals in Patricia’s would-be hit-single ‘Cowards’. The studio recording had gone perfectly, but the live practice was not going well. Ukhumbule we were professionals at heart, kodwa we were kids. We were like, “Uyagula lobaba, singafa thina!” (He is crazy. We want to play). He found us outside literally in the middle of flying kicks! He wanted to beat us with a belt, and we ran back to the security saying, “Ubhud’ Dan uthe sizocula lana (Dan said we should come sing here instead).
Now Dan and the security were both demanding that we sing. Our part in ‘Cowards’ was, “Abo-clever baphenduka abobhare” (The wisecrackers turned into fools). And there we were, having thought we were clever!
We literally, were, kids!
The name followed us and we were mischievous. We would be booked into hotels during tours and there were no cellphones back then. In our off days, we would run up the hotel bill with phone calls and Dan would go mad. Room service? We would order trays of food to be brought up! Mini bar? They would find it empty! Ngangimosha! He was like our father. Patricia ended up giving me a punishment that I couldn’t ride in Dan’s new first car.
The Patricia Majalisa of…
If you didn’t know her, you would have been afraid of her. Ebenomsindo, ebethetha! (She was highly irritable!). You know a typical African mother who will tell you off, and a minute later is pampering you with food. But she was an absolute sweetheart. You could misunderstand her and yet she was the other way round. She would say, “Usalapho? Ngidlulile mina” (You are angry about being corrected? I have moved on).
She instructed Petronella and I to teach others who came after us. She vowed to never teach anyone else. Even when Ivory came along, I was the music teacher (Would-be Penwell Kunene’s wife, later lead singer of By4, and Matshikos’ songwriter extraordinaire Ivory Sikepe, speaks about her tumultuous two months at Dalom-world in 1994 and of course the famous feud Dan and Penwell had – SJ).
The ‘90s Tours of…
The thrill of flying out to a different country and holding the-then Zimbabwe dollars was priceless. In Namibia, we needed a whole military escort! That was apartheid times, and we were escorted by the SADF, not the present-day SANDF (South African National Defence Forces since 1994, preceded by the South African Defence Force – SJ). The crowd in Nambia would know the songs but would sit in the hall and clap hands after, unlike the Bulawayo crowd esi-jayiva nabo sihlanye (Who we dance and go crazy with). At first, we were like, “Hayi iyasinda ke le!” (This is a tough crowd), only to find out that was how they enjoyed the music.
Artists unfortunately cannot tour in the way we used to. At most, a South African artist of today will visit BYO and maybe Harare or vice versa (Like a true Bulawayo person, she also refers to the city by its shortcut, BYO – SJ). We would go city-to-city, town-by-town, and villages in the whole of Southern Africa, all the way up to Angola. The vibe in Botswana was the same as in Zimbabwe. We’ve come far.
Ezra Tshisa Sibanda made us! He took us internationally!
The Ezra Tshisa Sibanda of…
Ezra made us! What a legend! Our music would take long to get to other countries in the late ‘80s, but when he came along in the ‘90s, it was that quick! He made sure he was up to date on radio. He took us internationally.
The Music Industry of…
Many do not realise that there are a lot of people behind the success of any artist – the label, managers, stylists, vocal coaches, photographers, radio presenters, DJs, the record bars – ngimdala kanje, phela ngibuye kungakabi nama-CDs or cassettes. Vinyl records were the only thing available (In my upcoming new book, Thole likaMthwakazi, I discuss how Percy Golembo brought the first “record bars” to Bulawayo in 1951, the same year as Gallo Bulawayo opened – SJ).
Nowadays people use flash sticks and streaming. Then there is social media: you must post here, you must post there, you must post there again…! For us we only had the random guys sitting with their speakers playing songs loudly outside. That too was marketing. I-social media ithole sesibadala (Social media found us seasoned) and we avoided the vileness of it. Not that it is a bad thing, it is a useful tool evidently. If you get bad publicity on social media, you must learn your lesson, grow, and improve your image.
The Siblings of…
I have two half-siblings from my mom, and then there was my late brother and me. I also have three half-sisters from my dad, and I am the last born.
The Child of…
My mom loved English. Her name was Mary-Jane and so the name Jacqueline rolled nicely for her. When I went to live nabogogo emakhaya (with my grandmother) in the Eastern Cape, they gave me the homeland name Nombulelo – we are happy for another girl.
My dad was born in 1945 and still drives himself to church. He always wants to drive our cars, but never allows us with his car! “Phela abantu fanele bang’bone,” he says. (The congregation must see that I have raised children who are doing well in life).
The Parent of…
I have three children. My first-born daughter DJ Teedo Love ngalwa (I fought) for her not to be kwi-industry!
SJ: Hawu…
(laughs) Imagine, mina wonke owaye-dodge eskolweni! I sent her all the way to tertiary school. I told her I knew the playbook of dodging classes and that I couldn’t be tricked. I, had been the best at bunking. Kwaba yim u-Havoc – skolweni sama-Khatolika, i-skirt eside es’shaya ngale ezansi kwamadolo (I was “Havoc” like my mother and sent her to Catholic schools where the hem length of a skirt is way below a girl’s knees!). She often reminds me that her whole life was in church!
If you hear my kids, one minute they will speak in Zulu, Xhosa, and the next they will speak in Venda. We sound like a comedy. We all switch just like that. One will say, “Ukudla sikuphekile” (Xhosa: We cooked already). Another will say, “Baba a vhathu u vha na ndala ri vha avhele zwiliwa nna” (Venda: Dad was hungry and we dished him food already).
SJ: (Xhosa) Siyabulela i-rainbow nation njengegama lakho – ndim’ u-Nombulelo namhlanje!
The Partner of…
My Venda man and I have been together for 15 years. We still call each other “baby”, and sometimes we even forget when we are in front of elders. He understood who I was. He is an architect and travels for work like I do. I think what affects most female entertainers is the aspect of not being at home sometimes.
The Religion of…
I am a believer but ngiyavilapha (I’m lazy to go to a place of worship). I am one of those people: “Ning’beke emthandazweni!” (Kindly pray for me in my absence). My man and my in-laws in Venda go to, uyabona le-Zion ecula is’gubhu (Jerico Church in Zion which uses the stick-played log drum – SJ), and so I dodge, tell them, “Ndiri vhathu kha vhatuwe wee hu dosala nyi hayani ndi dosala ndi tshi ko bika” (I will remain preparing food, so that you find it ready when you return). They love my food!
Jacqueline’s new EP, Ithuba containing ‘Asibambaneni’ is out now on streaming platforms. This is her first solo offering since leaving Dalom Kids in 2012.
Interview date: 25 July 2025
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Cite this article: Jermain, S. (2025, August 12). The Republic of. . . Dalom Kids’ Jacqueline Rotwana (Part 2). Sonny Jermain Online. https://sonnyjermain.com/the-republic-of-dalom-kids-jacqueline-rotwana-part-2/
In-text: Parenthical – (Jermain, 2025); or Narrative – Jermain (2025).
