Les Wanyika rises again 26 years after founder John Ngereza's death

The legendary Les Wanyika band on stage entertains guest during Wape Wape listening party, on 27th November 2025 at Tusker Bar EABL.[ Edward Kiplimo,Standard]

As Les Wanyika Orchestra marks the 26th anniversary of the death of its former leader, John Ngereza, the band continues to grow stronger. Ngereza died on February 11, 2000.

Ngereza passed on at a time when the band’s fame was at its peak, rivalling Dar es Salaam’s DDC Mlimani Park Orchestra, bands respected for their original compositions and rich productions imbued with moral lessons in Kiswahili secular music across East and Central Africa.

Following Ngereza’s death, which came after that of guitarist Professor Omar Shaban, the composer of Sina Makosa, who died in 1998, Les Wanyika experienced a downward trend that lasted over a decade. The surviving members made a formidable comeback 15 years later.

Band leader Zuwa Sijali says plans to revive Les Wanyika were conceived during memorial celebrations for former Maroon Commandos Band leader Habel Kifoto, who died on July 31, 2011. The event was held at Carnivore Restaurant in 2015.

“We could not let it sink into the abyss when we still had experienced and active members. We took the bull by the horns and devised ways to sustain the band in the fight for top honours,” says Sijali.

Since then, the band has not looked back and has produced three new original songs: Mazingira, Rafiki Yangu and Maendeleo. These new songs continue the band's identity rooted in original compositions.

“This has always been our tradition. We cannot and will not walk away from it. We can only thrive when we concentrate on original compositions,” says Sijali.

He says the band is determined to reclaim its space in the market to restore its former glory and popularity, as it enjoyed from the mid-1970s up to the turn of the century.

Some of its popular songs from that era include Wazazi, Barua Yako, Kajituliza Kasuku, Tafuta Wako, Tamaa Mbaya, Sina Makosa, Lift kwa Jirani, Maisha ni Mapambano, Afro Mtoto Wa Sagana and Fitina.

Most of these songs were composed by Ngereza and Omar Shaban, who were founding members of Les Wanyika alongside Sijali, Tommy Malanga, Rashid Juma, Joseph Justi Shayo, Hassan Mohammed Ngao, and Phoney Mukwanyule. The songs remain popular to date.

In many of these tracks, Ngereza and Shaban served as lead vocalists, with Shaban also playing rhythm guitar, Malanga on bass guitar, and Joseph Justi as the drummer. “We cannot allow an orchestra of this magnitude to die just like that. Les Wanyika is a community club where public participation among members thrives before we arrive at conclusive decisions,” Sijali says.

“We have a committed team of seasoned musicians, some of whom are founding members, ready to take the band to the next level in the current setup so that we can once again emerge as one of the strongest Kiswahili secular bands in the region,” says Sijali, a saxophonist and trumpeter.

The surviving founding members are Sijali, Malanga, and Rashid Juma. However, Juma has since retired from active performance and ventured into farming.

The new members include Congolese duo solo guitarist Damas Lubanga and rhythm guitarist Ispaul Mulula; singers Rama Kocha, Taabu Obala and Rajab Kadima; saxophonist Lawless Kaulu; drummer Kevin; percussionist Hassan Ngao Konga; and trumpeter Emmanuel.

“This is a fantastic team that is equally set to go places from now on,” says Sijali.

The band has been performing in selected parts of the country and appears at both private and national celebrations when invited. During former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s tenure, Les Wanyika performed twice during Madaraka Day celebrations.

Sijali says the band is planning a tour of Tanzanian cities once sponsorship is secured. The planned destinations include Dar es Salaam, Morogoro, Dodoma and Tanga.

Sijali dismissed claims that Tanzanian musical outfits are more advanced in Kiswahili secular music than their Kenyan counterparts, describing such assertions as mere rhetoric.

“How can we be regarded as second-class and yet Tanzanian bands copy and paste most of our music during performances in nightclubs these days?” he wonders.

He holds great respect for only two legendary Tanzanian bands: DDC Mlimani Park Orchestra and Djuwatta Jazz Band.

Although the band has never received state honours, Sijali believes they are not far from attaining such recognition.

“State honours come at the right time, and we are not very far from it,” he says.