Local traditional group Bana Bana Ba Ntogwa did the Ghetto proud when they scooped position one during the recent Presidential Arts Awards.

Formed by the grandchildren of the late Ntogwa, a Hosana dancer from Nswazwi village, the Francistown based group has gone from strength to strength since their formation in 2007.
They won the Botswana Musicians Union (BOMU) awards in 2009 with their first album Ntogwa Thobela, and were runners-up in the 2010 Presidential Arts competition in the Up Coming Artist category

Their big break came when the group was sponsored by the Department of Arts and Culture to represent the country during the Commonwealth Games in India.
Their success in this year’s Presidential Competition won them P25 000 in the back track category, and came with the release of their second album Mamazala. According to group leader Teezani ‘Allah’ Ntogwa, their performance this year was more creative as they did three dances in one song.

“We want to take our music to the next level to promote our Kalanga culture. Next year, we are going to compete playing our music live as we are going to buy musical equipment with our prize money.
“The group consists of ten dancers, all of us are unemployed so we earn a living through music.

These competitions have really helped us to unearth our talents and also to market our music,” said Ntogwa.Local celebrity Mogomela King of Kings was on hand to congratulate the group as he posed for a picture outside The Voice offices in Francistown.

Bana Bana Ba Ntogwa are available for hire and have copies of their CD and video for sale from the Born in the Ghetto shop in Francistown.

King + dance