Lingala star Fally Ipupa rocks Sawa Sawa Festival

By Kiundu Waweru

Saturday night was the most awaited of the five Sawa Sawa Festival days. Lingala sensation Fally Ipupa was to perform at the Carnivore Grounds and excitement was in the air. But another event happening a few metres away threatened to spoil the festival.

In what may seem like an oversight by the organisers, Sarakasi Trust, Saturday May 28 coincided with the UEFA Champions League final where Manchester United was taking on Barcelona. To make matters worse, Carnivore Simba Saloon played host to Heineken, the sponsors of the Champions League. Booze and drinks were free, and the Simba Saloon was bursting at the seams with fans. About ten minutes after kick off, Fally hit the stage; a lot of people were lost as to what event to attend and many resorted to watching the game at a screen mounted in the Carnivore Grounds.

Fally Ipupa jubilant fans cheer. [PICTURES: BONIFACE OKENDO]

Soccer final

"We learnt about the finals coinciding with the festival too late," said Anitah Mbuguah, Assistant Project Officer, Sarakasi Trust. "We had started wooing Fally Ipupa as early as 2009 when he was a guest at the MTV Music Awards in Nairobi, and we couldn’t postpone."

Nevertheless, a good number thronged the Carnivore Grounds and they waited eagerly for Fally.

The Congolese legend set a record and perhaps a lesson to Kenyan artistes, many who watched from the VIP area mesmerised, like everyone else, by Fally’s energy. He was on stage, dancing and singing, for about two and a half hours. He would exit briefly for a change of clothes before hitting the stage again.

The theme of this year’s Sawa Sawa Festival was the Power and Beauty of Women and as if hearkening to this, women turned out in large numbers. They sang along as they screamed Fally’s name. At one time, Fally invited some of them on stage to sing Olivia’s part in their duet, Chaise Electrique. Esther Mwango, who works with the African Council rose to the occasion. Looking smitten, she wowed the crowd with her mastery of the song. Fally also invited "his good friend" Amani, and they performed a rendition of Hands across the World; the lead single in the R Kelly produced One 8.

Kanda King also got his moment of fame and when he pulled his slow motion stunt, the crowd went wild.

Sawa Sawa Festival was in its fifth edition, and it was different in the fact that previous editions saw reggae artistes invited. In the 2010 edition, Don Carlos was the headlining act where on Sunday May 30, his performance at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, left a bitter taste as hooligans, smoking weed openly mugged revellers with abandon.

"To avoid this, this year, we introduced gate charges to control the crowds. We are yet to reconcile but all I can say is that it was a success," said Anita.

"Of course diehard Sawa Sawa fans, who always attend the free editions, complained bitterly but this time round, no untoward behaviour was reported."

The festival kicked off on Wednesday, at the Sarakasi Dome with workshops. Transparency International took participants through Human Rights as stipulated in the new Constitution. On Thursday a reformed group of commercial sex workers highlighted the plight of the twilight girls.