It has been five years since the passing of music veteran Robbie Malinga and his widow Ann is still fighting to get royalties for his music. "A lot has changed since my husband died. I have been fighting for his royalties with some of the organisations, three days after the funeral and I am still at it,' she says. But Ann is far from backing down. "My husband's legacy will not be in vain,' she adds. Bra Robbie as he was affectionately known by his industry friends succumbed to pancreatic cancer which was at stage four and died on Christmas day after battling with the illness for six months. ?

FIGHTING FOR HIS ESTATE?

Ann has also had to stand up against Robbie's so-called friends who allegedly tried to get a piece of her late husband's estate. "I've had to become a lioness over his estate that was tampered with by some of his friends and the fight continues. I will not say too much but a lot will be revealed this year,' she adds.?

CONTINUING HIS LEGACY?

Everything she plans to do is to continue Bra Robbie's legacy. Last year, she launched his biography titled Robbie Malinga:The Legend which did well, and this year she is looking at relaunching her journal. "Last year, we also launched the annual golf day in his honour and we are currently preparing for the second one,' she says. Also in the same year, she launched the RM Soul Sessions adding that more will be coming up soon." Ann says she knows her husband is proud of how far she has come. "He is definitely proud of me for all the fights I have had to fight silently and alone. Proud of how I am raising his kids. Jnr is now done with tertiary and working with me on different projects. He is also working on something legacy related that he is looking at launching on his birthday in May, which is unique and exciting too," Ann says. "Overall, I think the industry took my introverted quiet self like an idiot for the longest time, and now is the perfect time to introduce my ugly side. But so far, all is coming right, their mistake was missing the fact that I was the driver behind the Robbie Malinga brand for years. So, I know more than they thought I did and will make every one of them pay.'?

OPENING OLD WOUNDS?

The festive season is not an easy time for the Malinga family, since Bra Robbie died on Christmas. Ann tells ZiMoja that she made sure that this year was a special one for her kids. "On Christmas Day, we hosted families for lunch for the first time since Robbie's passing for the 5th year commemoration. It was lovely,' she humbly says. On the day he was buried, 2 January, me and the kids visited his grave." Having struggled with his death and not being able to look at some of the video footage from his funeral, Ann says time is proving to be a healer. "I must admit, it does get better with time. I'm in a much better space than I was five years ago." She adds that Robbie Jnr still struggles a bit but she believes he will come around when the time is right. "On the other hand, Zano, who is only seven years old is still trying to understand why people die and never come back," she says.