THE BIRTH OF KASONGO

One evening, Katele and Dodo Doris, both musicians with Super Mazembe, thought it was time to visit their colleague Kasongo Songoley in his Pipeline Estate abode in Nairobi.

They only found his wife. Kasongo, who was a guitarist, was missing. Upon inquisition on the whereabouts of their colleague, the wife responded by stating that she, too, had not seen him for several days.

Apparently, the musician hadn't been home for several days. The wife was worried because the family was running short of supplies.

The woman narrated her tribulations to her husband's colleagues with the intention that the duo may prevail upon him to shape up his wayward ways.

Musicians being musicians joked about the woman's predicament and Dodo being Doris, made a makeshift persecution from his host's table and created a beat, upon which Katele sang a chorus begging the roaming Kasongo to return home. 

Katele was an astute composer. He later created verses for them and filled them on the template they had created with Dodo Doris, and that's how the hit song Kasongo was born.

It became very popular and, in fact, one of the band's most popular songs. The band also had a tradition of titling their songs from band members and associates, i.e., Loboko, Asia, Longwa, Mado Zaina, etc, so this wasn't unique.

The song was sung by Katele. It is worth noting that Kasongo Songoley and Kasongo Wa Kanema are two different people. By the time this song was recorded, Kasongo Wa Kanema had yet to join Super Mazembe.

Remember Super Mazembe began in DRC as Super Vox,  while Kasongo came to Kenya via  Tanzania with Baba Gaston's Baba National and joined Super Mazembe after a sojourn in Mangelepa, something that has been doubted by many but I stick to it because Kasongo Wa Kanema himself told me.

Kasongo Wa Kanema was more known than Kasongo Songoley or Katele and this forced an Esau Jacob situation, as he gladly gobbled the Kasongo limelight, but never failed to elaborate that the song wasn't his composition, when asked. This also doesn't make him a lesser musician. He was great.

This story was narrated to me by Mfumu Wa Kimbagu of KBC, who was also a musician with Mazembe. That's how the song Kasongo was born.

By Jerome Ogola

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