It was near the close of the year, somewhere between December 28th, when the news settled over Bermuda like a heavy silence. Sad news. The kind of news that travels quietly at first, then all at once. Bermuda had lost one of its own — the H&H Gombey drummer, the son of the H&H founder, a man known to many simply as Zaniko.
Zaniko was not loud in presence, yet his absence echoed deeply. He was the leader of the group, but more than that, he was its heartbeat. Quiet. Unassuming. Humble. A hard worker. The kind of man who never needed the spotlight to shine.
Just days after his passing, we spoke with his brother, Zane Henderson, who shared a portrait of a man whose spirit was as steady as the drumbeat he carried.
“Oh man, my brother… he was a special, special individual,” Zane said. “He was one of them ones that don’t get mad at nobody. He don’t curse. He don’t do that.”
From the very beginning, the drum was part of him.
“He’s been playing drums before he even walked,” Zane recalled. “He always had a little strap on his drum.”
Their father passed away when Zaniko was just three years old, but somehow, the legacy never skipped a beat.
“He got everything that my daddy had when it came to a drum,” Zane said. “Nobody never taught him nothing. He just had it in his blood.”
That bloodline ran deep.
Zaniko came from two strong, close-knit families — the Hendricksons and the Stephens — families rooted in community, respect, and tradition. After their father passed, Zane, only ten at the time, looked after his younger brother, while the neighborhood and extended family looked after them both.
“Our mama done very well with us,” Zane said. “She raised us respectful.”
Their father, Lawrence “Junior Stickers” Stephens, was himself a legend — the original Stickers, the birth child of H&H Gombeys. A well-known and respected drummer, he helped other groups, supported the culture, and pushed for H&H to come forward when they branched off from other Gombey traditions.
“That’s how them guys were,” Zane said. “They always wanted to make sure all the Gombeys batted us out. Keep going forward. Keep the tradition.”
After their father’s untimely death at just 31 years old, the responsibility fell to the next generation.
“Me, my brother, my cousins, grandchildren — we carried the group on,” Zane said.
And Zaniko carried it with quiet strength.
He was observant. You wouldn’t even know he was in the room, Zane said — but he was always watching, always learning. Friendly, approachable, full of jokes when you got close enough to hear them. He touched people across the island, across communities, without ever seeking recognition.
“He done a good legacy in Bermuda,” Zane said softly. “For his soul — he was a good man.”
Gumby passed just days after celebrating his 35th birthday on December 23rd — a painful echo of history, as his father also passed young. Two lives cut short, two drumbeats now silent, yet never gone.
Coping has not been easy.
“I’m trying,” Zane admitted. “I have my days. I’m trying to be strong for my family, my household, my siblings, and my mama.”
The bond between the brothers was unmistakable.
“He’s like my twin,” Zane said. “People see me, they saw him. They saw him, they saw me.”
Their mother, though heartbroken, has shown remarkable strength, surrounded by family and community support. The loss is fresh, the pain still unfolding.
Plans are underway for a service that reflects the magnitude of Zaniko’s impact. A celebration of life marked by unity, respect, and tradition. Zane hopes for marches — one leading to St. Paul’s, another to North Village, gathering Gombey groups together just as Zaniko would have wanted.
“That’s what my brother wanted,” Zane said. “He loved this. He’s looking down at us right now.”
Before concluding, Zane had one final message.
“I just want to tell everybody thank you — for the wishes, the love, the support.”
From TNN staff, management, and supporters, sincere condolences are extended to the Henderson–Stephens family.
May Zaniko Lawrence Withfield Hendrickson sleep in eternal peace — his rhythm carried forever in the heart of Bermuda.
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