KAMARU'S JOURNEY IN MUSIC

BY JEROME OGOLA

There was a musician who was summoned to Gatundu by Mzee Kenyatta, the then Kenya's president, and thoroughly flogged by an angry Mzee. This was a popular celebrity gossip that also made inroads to political discourses in the mod 1970s.
What was the musician, and what was the dispute that made old Jomo, that angry? 

It was all about a song that was released after the assassination of JM Kariuki, pointing an accusing finger at Mzee Kenyatta and suggesting he was complicit. Two songs had been released at the time, themed on the assassination. The songs were by DK Mwai and Joseph Kamaru, both of which were popularly Kikuyu musicians of the day. The person who was flogged must have been one of these two.

The flogging is captured by numerous sources, which suggests it was true. JM Kariuki, who had previously served as Kenyatta's personal assistant in the pre-colonial era, had morphed into a harsh critic of the regime. When his body was discovered in Ngong' Forest days after his disappearance, his death was blamed on the government. Musician Kamaru had a chequered relationship with Kenyatta. He was Mzee's close friend and confidant for long. He performed at several of his functions, both state and private. 

He dominated the Kikuyu secular music scene, churning out hundreds of albums over two decades, some of whose lyrics bordered on being explicit. When he finally converted to gospel, he never attained the level of success he enjoyed in the secular world, but his records at River Road kept selling.

His dalliance with presidents did not end with Kenyatta. He also courted Moi. Moi tagged him along in a Japanese tour in 1980, a safari which resulted in the birth of the popular song 'safari ya Japan. However, in the late 1980s, when Nyayoism began drifting toward absolutism, Kamaru became an enemy of the regime.

The thawing of his relationship with Moi culminated in 1988 when he composed the song 'Mahoya Ma Bururi' (Prayers of the Nation). In 1992, when invited to Pergom for a Madaraka Day fete, he surprised the security and organizers by lecturing the president on the shortcomings of his regime. Everyone was afraid that the regime, known for its intolerance of criticism, would pounce on him, but that never happened. 

That's who Kamaru was a Kenyatta ally, a Kenyatta enemy, a Moi friend and a Moi enemy, a saved gospel musician, and a vulgar secular music lyricist. Just who was Joseph Kamaru? This Benga superstar was born in Kangema, which is now part of Murang'a County, in 1939. He quit school to try life on the streets of Nairobi as a hawker in 1957. He also performed several menial jobs in the city, which was nascent at the time, to earn a living. 

It was in this era that several cultures were converging in the city. Natives travelled to the city in an immigration that was inspired by finding new jobs, and each carried their traditions with them. This is now elements of several communities converged at the city for an interaction with aspects of other civilizations in a platform of technological innovations like recording technology, radio, and others, which to define entertainment.

Having been bitten by the music bug, Kamaru bought his first guitar with his savings in 1965.. Kamaru made his first recording in that same year. Growing up in the villages, especially during the Mau Mau era, gave him an exceptional platform to express himself through music, with expressions of his observations of society, delivered in rich idioms woven into musical notes. He became a master of folklore, which was very popular with audiences.

When he died in 2008, aged 79, some pundits declared him the most successful Kikuyu benga musician, not just because of the popularity of his songs, but also the sheer volume and the impact his music had on the community's entertainment and the political terrain. He is revered as the king of Kikuyu benga.

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