A dog’s life? Congolese bands concerned as pandemic bites

Darze Khalend with his Bilenge Musica band [Photo: Courtesy]

As the coronavirus curbs took toll, many people found the going difficult. One of the worst-hit was the entertainment industry, and Kenyan based foreign bands bore the brunt of it. Take the case of the many Congolese bands that have over time become entertainment staple for many a club. Most of these musicians depend on income from club performance to make ends meet, so when bars were shut, they found themselves swinging in the wind without an anchor.

Disco Longwa Ngoi, the bandleader of Bana Mazembe, an affiliate of Super Mazembe, says the going has been tough. He says the 12-member band “has been forced to live from hand to mouth due to low payments and a number of them have been kicked out of their houses due to non-payment of rent. We have been struggling to survive with occasional handouts from a section of Kenyan friends, well-wishers and fans, among them,” says Ngoi.