Blind and ageing: One-time benga stars beg State for stipends
Local musicians Simon Beru Imoli (right) and James Mbimwa Inyanje in Hamisi.
In his heyday, veteran musician John Bongo, like many famous musicians, led a glittering life of fame on stage entertainment as he produced tantalising tunes that kept his fans mesmerised in the 1960s.
His life today, however, is a pale shadow of the fame he enjoyed back in the day, with blindness and poverty complicating his old age at his Kaptech home in Vihiga County.
Born James Mbimwa Inyanje 80 years ago, the one time humorous and renowned benga star is leading a life of struggle.
Bongo’s famous tunes include Ngala na Muliro, Mpenzi Daina, Mapenzi ya Pesa, Veronica, Bongo Wanaka, Sina Ugonjwa, Nitafutie Mchumba, Baba Rudi, Lucy and Kenyatta wa Muigai.
His journey in the music industry began when he was 13 years old. By 1956, he was performing on stage and formed his band in 1960.
The band consisted of Mark Lumula William Kinyosi, his brother Henry Musambi, Omari Ali, John Lwangu and Francis. Some are still alive while others are dead.
He recalls that he rose to fame in 1963 and, in 1968, he started receiving invitations to perform in government functions and national holidays.
"My band, the Bongo Boys, entertained during the official opening of Nakuru State Lodge," he recalls.
Things took a turn, however, in 2010 when blindness struck, cutting him off from his fans.
Today, he is not even able to raise money to cater for his eyesight restoration, for which he needs around Sh110,000.
The royalties he was to earn from his genre have never been paid to him by the Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) where he is a member.
He laments that the government has abandoned veteran musicians who sang patriotic songs that put Kenya on the global scene.
Musician James Mbimwa Inyanje at his Kaptech Kaimosi village, Hamisi in Vihiga county.
When the Nation caught up with him at his Kaptech home in Vihiga County, he was listening to his music, the art from which he draws the joy of his life. But he could not see us due to the eyesight problem.
He was expecting us and ushered us in when we arrived for a visit: "Karibuni. Unajua mimi siwaoni. Sina macho. Nilisahau kuwaambia nilipoongea na nyinyi kwa simu (Welcome but can’t see you because I’m blind. I forgot to inform you when we spoke on the phone)," he said.
Buy his albums
The music remains his only hope even in blindness, but he says people no longer buy his albums because they are in audio yet many now want video music.
"I am now fighting blindness that came in 2010. The eyes were not painful but they started showing impaired vision. I could see one person as two people,” he recalled the onset of the eyesight problem.
He had sought medical attention at Sabatia Eye Hospital and was referred to Kikuyu Hospital where he was informed that the veins that deliver oxygen-rich blood to the eyes were blocked. “They asked for Sh110,000, an amount I can't raise,” he said.
He is among veteran musicians from Western Kenya struggling with a myriad of issues.
They have formed an association -- Magharibi Music Welfare Association -- to champion their welfare.
Through the association, they are pleading with the government to put them on a monthly stipend of up to Sh20,000 to accord them a decent life in old age.
"We need to be put on a stipend to sustain our lives. This will accord us decent lives. We live on borrowing money to keep us going. I need to be supported to make a video of my albums so that my fans can buy them," he says.
He says he did not receive a cash transfer from the Sh100 million kitty President Uhuru Kenyatta offered as a relief for artistes despite his name and details having been taken.
"Let us be praised and taken care of while we are still alive and not when dead and gone,” he said.
Within the same Vihiga county, we found another veteran musician, 68-year-old Simon Beru Imoli, who is frustrated that despite the fame he gained on the stage, he is leading a deplorable life.
Imoli’s frustrations arise from non-payment of royalties by MCSK, but he believes his art is earning money.
Musician Simon Beru Imoli of Shiru village, Kaimosi Hamisi in Vihiga county.
Imoli, who hails from Shiru in Vihiga County, says his music earned him fame but he is struggling in old age. He is polygamous and complains of neglect.
"Let us be helped and not be given handouts. We should be supported to advance in our music by recording videos. If this is done, we will not go begging for handouts. MCSK is not keen on taking care of its members," he said.
He has composed, sang and recorded on audio a song praising First Lady Margaret Kenyatta on her Beyond Zero campaign.
The song, Mama Taifa, praises the Beyond Zero campaign and he would like Mrs Kenyatta to listen to it.
"Artistes sing songs to promote the country but they are neglected. The government supports athletes but has sidelined musicians. Instead of begging for help, let the government support us generate our income," he says, adding that poverty has hit him hard.
