Roberto Isaias and Stewart Sukuma defend the preservation of Dilon Djindji's songs as a way of safeguarding his legacy.

The artists reacted to the death of the Mozambican musician in the early hours of this morning at Maputo Central Hospital, from a long illness.

Roberto Isaías, one of the lead singers of Kapa Dech, shared his last memory with Dilon Djindji, when, during the celebration of the 80th birthday of the former president, Armando Guebuza, he was given the mission of checking on Dilon, who was then suffering from a terrible illness.

"Unfortunately I got there, our communication was difficult, because he was already having serious hearing problems, and he had to repeat himself several times, and it was already a sad scenario," said Roberto Isaias, quoted by "O País".

For Isaías, Dilon's death is painful for art makers, as they still had "a lot to drink" from the artist. "He's physically gone, but his legacy will remain with us forever."

Stewart Sukuma, for his part, says that Dilon Djindji was more than a musician, he was an example of the resilience needed to give credibility to music in general and marrabenta in particular.

Sukuma adds: "We owe Dilon, marrabenta owes Dilon, Mozambican music owes Dilon, we all owe Dilon. He is one of the greatest Mozambican musicians, and he lived to tell his story". (O País)