Making The Video: Matapeli

The Ogopa crew arrives at Nairobi’s City Market location at 10am on Friday, accompanied by the Musakhulu acrobats.  They are here for the making of Jaguar’s video for his new Matapeli release.

The location is ideal because of the graffiti, which goes with the message in the song. Within no time, curious onlookers amass, attracting City Council askaris who swarm in on the crew, accusing them of doing the graffiti and asking them why they do not have a letter from the then, apparently, ISO certified authority.

The ensuing haggle is interrupted when Jaguar arrives in the company of back-up singer Lugz and comedians Professor Eshuya and Otoyo, resulting in more curious onlookers swelling up the scene. Yet all this is humdrum because when Makadara MP Gideon Mbuvi aka Mike Sonko drives up in a convoy that includes a Hummer and Mercedes Benzes, the tone for the day is set.

Sonko cannot understand why they need a letter yet what they are there to do is not illegal. He is set to feature in this video and nothing will bar him, as he alights from his car. Within no time, hilarious comedian Mongolo arrives and his presence puts an end to the askaris’ argument; he is a city councillor himself, you see.

Where one set of askaris leaves, the other picks up, it seems, because before settling down, the Central Police OCS is here, having been alerted of the huge crowd that has by now effectively blocked the road. Luckily, both Sonko and Jaguar are known to him and after explaining what they are doing, the law enforcer goes his way.

Scene one

With a background bearing the graffiti ‘MPs sc**wing Kenyans since 1963’, Sonko gets down to play his role — that of a shoe shiner who, after doing a good job, gets underpaid by an arrogant sonko. He is a natural and acting comes easy. He is done quickly before they bring in the acrobats to do their puppetry using marionettes; a symbolism of how politicians manipulate us, like marionettes.

Sonko the shoe shiner comes back.

 He is on his way home when he bumps into one of those pata-potea street gamblers, as played by KBC’s Professor Eshuya. He gambles all his day’s earnings... and loses.

By now, the initial morning tensions have eased off and there is a general feel of camaraderie amongst the bystanders and the crew.

 “We did not even need security,” Jaguar later remarked.

A few pleasantries are exchanged, some lunch shared between newfound friends and the crew is off in a convoy of vehicles that causes a standstill.

Next stop, Mukuru slums. Here it would ordinarily be impossible to navigate your way through but thanks to various charity works there, Jaguar finds a home and actually knows the hood boys by name. It is them who are managing the crowd and ensuring everyone is fine.

Otoyo, or Otos, he of Papa hirandula fame, acts as a poor man who discovers that he cannot even afford to buy some roadside mutura as a substitute for meat to take home to his family. He buys a pack of maize flour and just as he is about to walk home, the packet falls down, pouring its content onto the muddy road leading him to cry out because his family back at home is waiting. 

Since Otos is an accomplished actor, this Scene goes fast and soon the crowd is feasting on real food that has been bought from the local eateries.

In contrast with the jolly crowd-filled scenes, this one is lonesome by comparison featuring Njoro — of Papa Shirandula — as a driver whose jalopy runs out of fuel. The choice of location is somewhere near Mlolongo with the wide, neat, tarmacked roads and flyover — again, to bring out the irony of a nation that has beautiful roads yet we cannot afford fuel. Njoro takes out his jerrican and goes to a nearby petrol station but on seeing the fuel prices, drops the red container and walks away in shock.

The following night, off Nairobi’s Kenyatta Avenue. This one is done with the least of fuss, with the iconic McMillan Library offering the background. It’s a wrap.

The video will probably stand out for not featuring the usual models, which obviously saved a lot of audition time. Working with established actors also eased the work. Sonko, too.

“Mhesh did it very fast, he was almost directing himself. I didn’t know he can act,” noted Jaguar.