Following the death of South African songstress Miriam Makeba, KEN has been inundated with calls by readers expressing shock at the passing of the music icon.

Makeba shot to fame in the 1950s when she performed with the then famous Manhattan Brothers. But it was perhaps her redoing of the late Fadhili Wiliam’s ever popular hit “Malaika” that served as her launching pad, propelling her to celebrity status in a career spanning over five decades. Her other songs included “Pata Pata” and “The Click Song”. She had the rare opportunity of working with internationally acclaimed Caribbean musician Harry Belafonte, popularly known as “The King of Calypso”.

Music aside, the singer will perhaps be best remembered for her 1963 appearance before the United Nations, where she condemned apartheid, a then unheard of risky action that almost cost her life.

According to Agencies, the 76 year old Grammy Award winning Makeba collapsed as she was leaving the stage after a performance in a town near Naples, Italy. In his condolence message, former South African president Nelson Mandela said it was “fitting that Makeba died doing what she did best - singing.”

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