‘’Aminadah’’ – A hit song that crosses the mind of residents of Kakamega county, (at least for those who listen to local music), is a memorable tune with which Ali Akeko is fondly remembered.
On a normal radio day, a listener from Western Kenya might be disappointed to miss one among the many hits composed and sang by Akeko – as he is well known.
In the greater Wanga speaking nation of the Abaluhya of Kakamega county, Akeko has his name cast in the mind, “a great musician” as some would tell you, whose talent put the Wanga sub-clan on the map.
On Friday 25th October 2024, alongside Kelvin Kibet an enthusiast of local talent and music we make our way to Matungu constituency, Kakamega county, home to Ali Akeko.
If it were Tuesday or Saturday, we would have found a busy market at Harambee, a market centre between Kabula and Mayoni on the Bungoma Mumias Road. Since it was Friday, not a great deal of transactions were underway at Harambee.
We divert at Harambee and use the road that is now under construction which if tarmacked fully will connect Harambee to Musamba market in Khalaba ward then later as people say would pass through Makokhwe, Busombi, Khaunga then to Malaha from where one can easily connect to Shianda on the Mumias Kakamega road.
On this particular road, just before the bridge on river Khalaba, we turn right at a mosque near Eshibanze then past Eshibanze Muslim secondary school in the outskirts of Harambee Market, where we meet boda boda operators at a stage.
“Mli abalamu” I greet them in their local Wanga dialect then ask one for direction to Akeko’s home.
Just before one of them in a red t-shirt gives directions, he notices two girls at the market centre whom he says are Akeko’s children and tells them “get into the car and take them to your father”
The two girls (at home because schools had closed) directed us, using the route from Eshibanze market centre to Akeko’s home.
At the entrance to his home, I notice a quarry, one from which he later informed me the county government had mined murram to aid the construction of the Harambee-Khalaba-Makokhwe-Busombi-Khaunga tarmac road.
Ali Akeko (real name Ali Nambwaya Wangasa) was sitting under a mango tree in his compound, with his solo guitar beside his chair; he must have been practising in readiness for his next live performance I guessed.
After exchanging pleasantries, we sat down to hear the story of Ali Akeko. A not so jovial tall man would narrate his journey, the goodies that come with talent and the “curse” that runs after musicians not just in Western Kenya but in Kenya
“I started well back in school, Khabukoshe primary where I went first then later at Namulungu secondary school”, he posed.
I first wanted to know why he is called Akeko but he says he was named after another relative at his uncles’ home at a place called Busombi in Khalaba ward where his mother came from. His own clan was Abamorono, and he says ” our ancestral home is at Indangalasia, I am relative to George Wajackoyah”.
Remember the presidential aspirant in the 2022 general elections in Kenya who gained fame as he advocated for an economic turnaround with the slogan ‘’Tingiza mti’’ whose agenda was based on growing and using cannabis for economic growth under his Roots Party that was a charm to the youth during the campaigns.
Akeko went on to narrate that he successfully learnt the art of playing the solo guitar out of his hunger to learn and was even accorded scholarship at Namulungu secondary school for the role he played in getting the school to national music festivals until he wrote his form four exams in 1989.
1994, was the year Akeko released his first song – “Olwikho” translated as “blood relationship” or simply as “family” first singing with his late first wife then later recruited other artists under his guidance. He says he could wake up in the middle of the night and composed songs after an idea popped up, wrote it down then shared with his crew.
He rose to fame with his wives Aminadah and Jane alongside his brother Wanyonyi – as they released pieces to address societal issues. Aminadah, Webukha, Undesanga, Namulekhwa are among the top hits that Akeko did, and truth be told, have remained top of the mind not just to Kakamega residents but across Western Kenya.
He however recalls how a “Mr. Barasa” who was then a music promoter, used his talent to enrich himself at the expense of Akeko’s well being as a musician. He says, he should be doing well financially were it not for the ‘theft’ of his music, promoters using his songs to get rich as he walked on foot even after all the hard work.
“I only depend on farming, my music is not paying as one could imagine, piracy has made some people use my songs on YouTube yet I earn nothing out of it” Akeko posed.
I inquired if the county government had recognized him in any way. Akeko, looking disturbed recalled how some politicians had even hired him to compose songs used during the campaign period only for them to win and leave him stranded. “They called us – musicians, at Matungu and promised a lot, but nothing has happened since” he says.
Even with the many challenges, Akeko says the county government of Kakamega should consider having him on an entertainment panel at least for him to earn a living or still help him produce videos for his songs and upload them on YouTube for him to start earning from his sweat.
Akeko is a manifestation of the untold stories of Kenyan musicians who serve their countrymen during their hay days but are hardly remembered after the wind of fate blows the same musicians to oblivion.
Akeko’s star might be dimming and his fame fading but one thing he never regrets is setting stage for the youthful musicians whom he advices to learn the art of playing musical instruments to help them showcase their might during live performances unlike just singing along a beat that they can not compose.
“I am ready to bounce back if I get help” Akeko wraps up our interview as he appeals to well-wishers and the county government of Kakamega to step in.