During the requiem mass for the late veteran news anchor Catherine Kasavuli, murmurs surfaced that her son, Martin Kasavuli, was a doppelgänger of former Baringo Senator Gideon Moi. This rekindled the tabloid fantasy of the early 1990s, which suggested the TV journalist had an intimate relationship with former President Moi.
The genesis of this rumor can be traced to an April 1990 episode when Congolese musician Kanda Bongo Man was unceremoniously ejected from the country via a cargo plane. Kanda had been on a sojourn in Kenya's capital, where he held electrifying concerts at KICC, Nyayo Stadium, among other venues. However, just as the stage was set for a concert at the Stanley Hotel, policemen arrived, canceled the show, and ordered him to leave within a few hours.
Although veteran broadcaster Fred Machoka, who had been part of the team that organized the events, later clarified that Kanda's troubles at the hands of state agents may have stemmed from his refusal to perform at the wedding of the daughter of the then-powerful PS Hezekiah Oyugi (which the musician had reportedly declined, stating he didn't perform at private functions), the rumors that Kanda may have made seductive overtures to Catherine Kasavuli persisted. This was especially true after one of the officers in the arresting team was allegedly quoted as alluding to it.
The concerts had been electrifying, with some pundits estimating that the one at Nyayo may have been the most attended music event in the history of the Republic. Prominent government officials, including then-Vice President Prof. George Saitoti, attended the event. The soukouss fever was sweeping across the country, and with his kwasa kwasa dance style, Kanda had brought the country to a standstill.
If it wasn't for the wild guitars, it was for his swinging waist that one prominent woman is said to have joked, "If this is what he manages on stage, then he must also be exceptionally good off stage." The country was literally talking and dancing to Kanda Bongo Man, and his songs "Monie" and "Isambe" were playing everywhere.
Yet another version claimed that women removed and threw their panties at him during one of the concerts, an act that infuriated a government official in attendance, whose wife also participated in the "panties throwing." This version didn't gain much traction, nonetheless.
Kanda Bongo Man, who had been accompanied by a six-man and one-woman team comprising 'Miss C. H.' Loial, lethal soloist Mandoza Mbedi Nene (aka Nene Tchakou), Martin Miabanzila, Fulgence Zola Solo, Mohamed Charles Barry, and Anne Aimée-Eugenie, kept fans on their feet and asking for more. He was subsequently escorted to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and deported to Paris via a cargo plane because no passenger flight was available at the time. It was evident that State House security, who were pursuing his case, were under instructions for him to be ejected immediately.
As much as Kanda Bongo Man became a soukouss sensation, he actually emerged in the third generation of Congolese musicians, those who thrived in the mid to late 1970s. He was born on April 11, 1955, in Bandundu province in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), then known as Congo. He made his debut with Orchestra Bella Mambo, an offshoot of Orchestra Bella Bella that was headed by Soki Dianzenza after he ran into loggerheads with Soki Vangu over the leadership of Bella Bella. Bella Bella had been one of the biggest bands in DRC in the early 1970s and had been signed to the famous Maison Veve, owned by Verckys Kiamuangana.
In 1981, Kanda traveled to Paris to seek opportunities, not necessarily as a musician. With a vibrant music industry and a legion of Congolese in the country, he reconnected with his countrymen, who were mostly musicians, and struck a rapport with a young and talented soloist, Diblo Dibala, with whom he recorded their first song, "Iyole." The duo did several songs together. In 1983, he performed at the WOMAD festivals, which further catapulted him into more musical glory. He released his first album, Sai, in 1988.
Thereafter, he released several albums in quick succession and played concerts in Africa, Europe, and even the USA. His kwasa kwasa dance was addictive to the audience. Children in deep villages tried to ape his dancing styles, and the urban youth also kept the tempo.
In Kenya, he became persona non grata until Moi retired, after which he made a return to the country. He has since toured the country many times and has had several concerts. However, despite releasing several albums thereafter, like the famous "Sweet Elizabeth", a composition of SE Rogie, he didn't gain such wild popularity as he did in the smash 1990 to 1991 era with his soukouss fame. Nonetheless, he remains the biggest showman to perform in Kenya, and the mystery surrounding his deportation only served to flare up the embers of his fame.
By Jerome Ogola
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