Kenya: When Music Sought to Heal a Nation

Kenya: When Music Sought to Heal a Nation

The East African Standard (Nairobi)

22 March 2008
Posted to the web 21 March 2008

Emmanuel Mwendwa
Nairobi

Music is said to be food for the soul. It also serves as a vehicle to convey messages. For those seeking spiritual fulfilment, it is a precious gift from God, designed to uplift feelings and inspire positive thoughts.

But early this year, local musicians found themselves at a crossroads. The country was under siege owing to the post-election skirmishes. Deeply entrenched ethnic and tribal divisions threatened to tear apart existing tenets of nationalism.

But in an unprecedented show of solidarity, a group of local musicians drawn from the gospel and secular divide overcame their differences in concerted efforts to rally Kenyans together through music.

They forged a hastily co-ordinated non-violent movement to protest against perceived electoral malpractices, which triggered bloodshed, wanton destruction of property and displacement of people.

Over two-dozen musicians recorded a plaintive Kiswahili song, Wakenya Pamoja, seeking to unite different ethnic groups.

"It was a cry to Kenyans to stop fighting and embrace unity despite their ethnic backgrounds," says gospel musicproducer, Robert Kamanzi, who composed the song's lyrics.

It would later be aired constantly on virtually all FM radio stations while its video clip featured regularly on the television channels. Kamanzi was able bring the musicians together, who, too, hailed from various communities.

"The lyrics raised pressing questions like why the great people of Kenya were fighting each other, why a people who previously lived together suddenly turned against each other, shedding the blood of women, children and the elderly," he adds.

There were no tangible indicators on the impact of this song in stemming the level of violence. But it is indisputable that Wakenya Pamoja, alongside other peace songs - like retired world track champion Douglas Wakihuri's bouncy track Kumekucha Amani Kenya - composed during Kenya's darkest days, helped cool tempers.

Music inspires change

"One major lesson we learnt as artistes is that music can be used positively to transform and stir communities towards progressive development. On the other hand, it can have negative influence and destroy the moral fibre of a society, ultimately leading to degeneration and ruin," says guitarist George Mutinda.

Since time immemorial, musicians have been at the forefront of various socio-political revolutions, by channelling their artistic output to influence the masses.

Wakenya Pamoja, for instance, emerged as part of a wider movement of alternative opposition that quietly sprung up in response to the Government ban on street protests when violence erupted.

For Kamanzi, who witnessed political conflict in his birthplace, Burundi, and later in neighbouring Rwanda, the opportunity to tap into the power of music as a tool for effective communication was timely.

"I have witnessed war first-hand, but in Rwanda, we never had a chance to rally warring communities together using music. This was the reason I was determined to bring local musicians together - to sing and speak out in one voice for peace," he said in an interview.

The Wakenya Pamoja peace concert, held at Uhuru Gardens in January, also served as an avenueto raise funds and other donations. They included food, sanitary towels, clothes, which were distributed to victims of the violence.

Artistes in the initiative were Suzanna Owiyo, Pete Odera, Kanji Mbugua, Abbi Nyinza, Eunice Njeri, Mbuvi and Kamanzi, among others. Others were upcoming all girl-group Taji, reggae band Heart n Soul and gospel singers Ben Githae, Sarah Kiarie, Esther Wahome, Jemimah Thiong'o, SK Blue, Wangeci Mbogo, Maximum Melodies, Rufftone and Men of God (MoG).

A truckload of food was donated by hundreds of enthusiastic Kenyans who attended the peace concert