Cathy Ochung'
22 March 2008
Nairobi — When violence erupted after last year's General Election, every radio and TV station played the song, Daima by Eric Wainaina.
The song was meant to rekindle a spirit of nationhood and unity, given the gravity of the situation.
The award-winning musician says his songs carry themes on social justice, which affect the common people.
In 2002, Wainaina caused a stir with his release, Nchi ya Kitu Kidogo, just before the General Election.
Wainaina
So loud did the song echo the social sentiment on corruption, that it confirmed the power of music.
Having combined his social concerns and artistic talent, Wainaina hit the nail on the head and stepped in to address the issues.
But owing to the post-election violence, most musicians were affected like everybody else in the country. Most found their shows overtaken by events, forcing them to postpone the release of new albums.
"I was forced to cancel a show scheduled for December 30, which is normally a high season," Wainaina says.
Although he was involved in a series of civic education initiatives before the elections, he agrees that most artistes were caught unawares by the post-elections events.
"Much as there was initiative by some artistes who composed songs promoting peace, it was not as effective as it should to have been.
"The post-election chaos still erupted, showing that the artistes could only do so much," says Wainaina. He says the blame should not be placed entirely on the artistes.
"It begins with addressing the issues of justice and poverty," he says.
From there, he says, the artistes can reinforce the messages. This is after the people, politicians and institutions, like the media, are already aware of the injustices going on.
But all was not gloom as a number of artistes, under the Umoja Pamoja initiative, came together in a show of solidarity to preach peace. Though he did not take part in the initiative, Wainaina says he was involved in other similar efforts.
And on whether he feels that he did not live up to the expectation of Kenyans, Wainaina says: "Social injustice is an issue that involves everyone not just an artiste."
A number of his songs received much airplay.
He dismisses the rumour that he was unwilling to co-operate with the other artistes.
Another artiste, who sought anonymity claims: "It would have been nice to have Wainaina on board, and befitting to use his hit, Kenya Only but he had other plans with the song."
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