Reliving the Moments of Patriotic Songs in Kenya: A Reflective Rendezvous with Thomas Wasonga
A well-known composer and singer of more than eighty Kenyan patriotic songs, Wasonga ruled the airwaves during Moi’s regime. His compositions were inspired to convey compelling messages that promote peace, unity, and national cohesion among the people of Kenya while inspiring the less privileged in society. From what I gathered, his life has been a story of focus, creativity, patience, stamina, redemption, divine election, and eventual fulfilment of a calling. All this took place along the beaten path of being tried, tested, and trusted.
The panoramic view from where we sat showed off Nairobi’s amazing sceneries and architectural creativity, her buildings puncturing the skyline in a fashion that would make many capitals envious, Berlin and London not spared this unsettling beauty showdown fronted by an African city.
On a cool and restful Sunday evening in the bustling heart of Nairobi, I had the honour of meeting Thomas Wasonga, affectionately known as “Mwalimu” (Teacher). He was so baptised even before he enrolled to be trained as a teacher, a testament to the power of the spoken word. A well-known composer and singer of more than eighty Kenyan patriotic songs, Wasonga ruled the airwaves during Moi’s regime. Wasonga’s compositions were inspired to convey compelling messages that promote peace, unity, and national cohesion among the people of Kenya while inspiring the less privileged in society.
The famous lyrics of this living legend include the most popular “Tuishangilie Kenya” and “Heko Jamhuri”, among others, preceded by an older favourite, “Kenya Yetu Nchi Nzuri, Nchi Yangu Nchi Yako Twaipenda Daima”. These patriotic songs resonate in the hearts of many Kenyans to date. From what I gathered, his life has been a story of focus, creativity, patience, stamina, redemption, divine election, and eventual fulfilment of a calling. All this took place along the beaten path of being tried, tested, and trusted.
In the past 24 hours, I had just crossed paths with Thomas Wasonga at a city bookshop. I reminded him of the phone call we had in January 2024 that ended with a promise to meet up. Time seemed to slow down since we last met. In principle, it could be true, if the science of the melting ice in Greenland does justice to my knowledge as a surveyor, of geodesy and the law of conservation of angular momentum. The melting ice redistributes mass outwards, affecting gravity and slowing down the Earth’s rotation, affecting the length of a day as a result.
Our meeting was not just a reunion of two individuals but a convergence of two generations of teachers, both sharing common experiences in teaching and mentoring young people in technical subjects. I used to listen to his songs over the radio when I was a primary school boy in rural Kenya, as I also enjoyed music as an engrossing subject in the retired 8–4–4 system of education — never imagining that one day I would meet him face-to-face. It happened, but after more than 30 years. Time flies, doesn’t it? And a life well lived oils its motion.
Back to our arranged meeting with the legend. In readiness for this spectacular meeting, which promised to condense a long history of patriotism into compact and concise episodes, I strategically reserved sitting space on a higher level of the imposing building complex, granting curious guests a breathtaking view of the Bomas of Kenya. It is Kenya’s foremost tourist village, cultural centre, the meeting point for consequential political decisions, general elections included, and where epic national dreams have been made, broken, and remade.
Wasonga arrived before I could turn the page of the engrossing Sunday Nation newspaper I bought an hour earlier. Effortlessly, we embarked on a nostalgic journey through Kenya’s history, first reflecting on the eventful era of Jomo Kenyatta’s reign. We appreciated that Jomo Kenyatta was a no-nonsense leader. In particular, we adored how he stopped Idi Amin’s nefarious claims to Kenya’s territory in the 1970s. Kenyatta deployed a master stroke of courage, swift action, ingenuity, and decisiveness — a far cry from the irresoluteness that has become second nature to most decision-makers today, laying bare the soft underbelly of leadership decades later.
We threw the spotlight on Moi’s rise to power, qualifying it as a process that beat all the odds of that time and a divine eventuality that slipped through the metaphorical eye of a needle. Moi was the last president of Kenya’s former single-party era. Granted, his avuncular wisdom and political acumen carried more weight than what the natural limit of his formal education could bear. We decried the lack of unifying national values and the cultural erosion Kenya has been experiencing since the post-Moi era. The dragon of corruption continues to get nourished, and sadly even from the most unlikely quarters.
We then raised searching questions: How many citizens today are acquainted with the history of Kenya’s political milestones, the loyalty pledge, or the national anthem — let alone those who live out the spirit of nationalism? What has become of the crucial role of music as a catalyst for building national values, ethos, and cultural preservation — positive ethnicity? I threw in the name of Dr. Muriithi Kigunda, who specialised in music in Germany by researching on its healing power, as an example of the power of music and why we need specialised arts and music schools in Kenya to nurture the rich bodily-kinesthetic and musical intelligences we have in this diverse nation. How is the education curriculum, not just in content but in delivery, addressing the widening gaps? We borrowed a few examples from countries whose citizens have embraced a semblance of national identity and adherence to national values, resulting in shared prosperity.
When I asked Wasonga if his role as a leader in the presidential events team enriched his pocket with the allowances Kenyans scramble for, he wittingly answered that the most enduring results are anchored on investing in personal and professional development when given such opportunities, not the fleeting one-off allowances. He embodied this conviction, taking numerous courses to advance his qualifications, including courses offered at the Kenya School of Government. He eventually rose the ranks to management level, ascending many rungs above Job Group H, where he started from. To the young people who mistake success for an instant outcome, he has a sizzling word of advice: Reaching the peak of one’s calling takes time, sacrifice, discipline, mentorship, and favour drawn from the social networks one builds over time — cumulative social capital!
As the real-life lessons continued pouring in, I recollected the saying that you cannot plough a field by turning it over in your head. Again, the warmer the blanket for the young today, the colder the future of their old age. Yet, most young people today are anti-sacrifice and anti-patience, vainly chasing for instant rewards without due diligence in skills development. The rapid growth in shortcuts to goals and betting-like tendencies at workplaces and schools is simply disgusting, but the government must also institutionalise an enabling environment for early talent management and access to quality and affordable education and training for all.
As the sun began to kiss the horizon, introducing dusk to the city, we appreciated Nairobi as a living wonder, her unrivalled climate naturally conditioning dwellers and tourists with room temperature almost throughout the year. The panoramic view from where we sat showed off Nairobi’s amazing sceneries and architectural creativity, her buildings puncturing the skyline in a fashion that would make many capitals envious, Berlin and London not spared this provocative beauty showdown fronted by an African city. We recalled that Nairobi was once known as the “Green City in the Sun”. It can only grow better with improved governance.
As the dusk started bleaching the greenness of the Karen neighbourhood, it dawned on us that it was time to disperse and reunite with our families. The kind waiter who was at our service accepted my request to take some snapshots to immortalise this rare occasion with a legend.
If breathing our last marks the end of our potential, then our visions find ready answers to defeating any ill-timed darts against them in mentoring our successors for continuity. That is why Impact Borderless Digital (IBD), a youth mentorship platform I founded in 2019, is proud to share this inspiring story of talent management in the person of Thomas Wasonga. There is hope for the youth, their dreams as valid as ever. Reading this story will motivate at least one of them to live out the 4Ds IBD always promotes: determination, diligence, discipline, and dignity.
To ensure a timeless record of his life’s achievements and lessons, I reminded Thomas Wasonga to complete writing his biography and kindly spare some lines from our meeting a page in the book.
Originally published at https://impactborderlessdigital.com.
