Kindiki turns to musicians in a battle for Mt Kenya region soul

Deputy President Kithure Kindiki during a fundraiser at Marani, Kitutu Chache North in Kisii County. [Sammy Omingo, Standard]

An unprecedented Competition is on in Mt Kenya to determine who is the king of the airwaves. Deputy President Prof Kithure Kindiki has turned to artists from the restive Mt Kenya region to help him penetrate the soul of what so far has proved to be an immovable mountain in his bid to woo its people who have drifted away from the government.

Hoping to benefit from the artist's skills to compose emotional tunes that have earned them a strong support base and seeking the help of social media influencers from the region, Kindiki invited over 40 artists to his Karen residence on Friday. He hoped to win them over so that they can convince their supporters to back the Kenya Kwanza administration.

After the meeting, Kindiki tweeted that 'Musicians and others in the creative space are seeking government intervention to ensure exploitative cartels are removed and their talent is more rewarding.'

"Leaders who have misused musicians for composition of personal praise songs or the production of inciteful and divisive music in exchange for small money tokens are bound to be annoyed by this decision," he said.

Some of the influential artists who attended the meeting included Samuel Muchoki alias Samidoh, Joseph Kanyi alias Jose Gatutura, Ben Githae, Karangu Muraya, Regina Muthoni, Martin Wa Janet among others.

In the recent past, some artists such as Samidoh have been corrupting some songs to include the name of the former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua as a warrior and a decisive leader.

Githae, known for his Uhuru 'tano tena' hit song on the spur of the moment, composed a praise song hailing Kindiki as the disputed leader of the mountain while Muraya, known for his philanthropic deeds, urged the Deputy President to allow them enumerate government projects to the people as they would be listened to, unlike the political class.

"Let us go to the grassroots and talk to our supporters on what the government is doing, my brother is a beneficiary of the Social Health Authority (SHA) where he received over Sh400000," he said.

Githae said 'Kindiki is our son, we shall not abandon him, he is our leader and the mountain leader," he said.

A section of Gachagua supporters dismissed the meeting between Kindiki and the artists while some took to social media to cancel and unfollow them on social media platforms, claiming they had lost touch with the people.

Gachagua too, reacted over the move and accused the government of bribing musicians and engaging in empowerment fund drives as opposed to releasing money to schools and in the health sector.

"Our musicians and creative artists, too, are being bribed to go out and sell that which cannot be bought. Sad as it is, Kenyans are encouraged to 'eat' the money but not surrender their souls.

He added, "There is no money for capitation in our schools, and our principals are being treated to a game of musical chairs by the government. Listening to them, the situation is dire; they are torn between letting auctioneers into schools over unpaid bills or sending students and pupils homes for levies."

He claimed the little money available from the payment of taxes has been 'diverted through the security agencies to bribe women and Boda boda operators and finance the 2027 campaign and pay goons to disrupt meetings of those advocating for regime change. '

On her part, Kirinyaga Women Representative Njeri Maina claimed the move by the artists would render them jobless as their supporters had already decided to drift away from the government

"Unfortunately for you all, you sing in the Gikuyu dialect and primarily depend on Mt Kenya fan base. Music evokes emotion, it's the opium we are all drawn to. Naturally, human beings are emotive and one of those emotions is something we call empathy. That is why, when people saw you yesterday with a government they consider incompetent and oppressive to the people, you were hanged dry," she said

However, some of the artists who held a meeting with the Deputy President defended their move, saying they had a right to associate with any political leader of their liking.

Martin Janet, who last year was involved in a scuffle with Gachagua after he switched off Gachagua's mic after he attended his event in Muranga town, said the artists presented their memorandum to the Deputy President.

"It was a quid pro quo form of a meeting. We requested the government assistance to resolve the skiza debacle that will deny artists some money and asked the second in command to initiate pro-artist' policies," said Janet.

He added that Kindiki urged them to talk to their supporters to be patient with the government and to reject leaders who were isolating them from other communities and in the government.

"There is nothing wrong with supporting the government of the day. It is within our rights to do so, we agreed that we shall use our voices to reject tribal and inciting leaders. The government must be allowed to discharge its functions to Kenyans. In 2027, people will go to the ballot and vote for a leader of their choice," Janet said.