By Nanjinia Wamuswa
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| The late Maunda with one of his grandsons. (Photo:Courtesy) |
It is said that men cannot multi-task with ease. But Jacob William Maunda was exceptional, as he straddled both music and journalism effortlessly.
The veteran journalist and musician died of heart attack on Friday morning at Kenyatta National Hospital’s private wing where he was admitted on August 13. His eldest son, Lawrence Nzomo, said Maunda had been booked to undergo heart surgery on the day he died.
This was his second admission. His first was at the Nairobi Hospital where he stayed for about a month.
It is during the second admission that the music lover died.
At 62, Maunda was one of the remaining few veteran and active musicians, entertaining fans that could not have enough of his legendary music. Not long ago he was still staging live performances regularly at Makuti Vibrations in Machakos, entertaining revellers especially during weekends.
The talented musician enjoyed playing lead guitar, soloist and vocalist best. The music bug hit youthful Maunda while his family was living in Tanzania. At the time his father William Kiongo worked as a driver with the East Africa Locomotive.
In 1972, then aged 22, Maunda and several others that shared his zest formed East Africa Community Boys Band. The group was cardinally for entertainment at various functions. Even then, he posed as the vocalist and bass guitar player.
Two years later, he spread his activities by joining Tengevu Lutheran Church Choir and helped it move to great heights. Under his guidance the band emerged winners in several competitions, managing to beat the then famous Arusha Mjini Choir.
After a diploma course in secretarial and communications at East African Community Centre College in Tanzania, Maunda returned to Kenya in 1976 and formed Mukasu International Band and Mukaa International Choir. He later dissolved the two and founded Orchestra Mukaa Super International band, with which he has been recording songs.
Cocktail of languages
Maunda will be remembered for his talent in singing in a cocktail of languages – Lingala, Kamba, Kiswahili and English. The songs Baba Yenu Mlevi, Shangilia Christmas, Jirani Acheni Roho Mbaya, Nahangaika Mombasa, Dada Rehema, Mkimbizi wa Mapenzi, Dada Sofia and many others will forever remain etched in many people’s hearts.
In 2005, Maunda, Peter Kanyi and his music partner John Nzenze picked nine of their best songs and released, The Zilizopendwa Trio VCD among them Maoni Ya Twist, Julieta Uko Wapi, Mkimbizi wa Mapenzi, Jerani Acheni Roho Mbaya and Anjelica Twist. Mr Nzenze, an old hand in music, describes Maunda as warm hearted and hard working.
“I was saddened by his death. We worked with him in music for a long time,” he said.
He insisted that everything we started must be complete before we rest,” says Nzenze.
Besides his larger family Maunda also juggled music and journalism well. He joined the Ministry of Information in 1977 and doubled as a Kenya News Agency (KNA) reporter and Voice of Kenya (VoK) newscaster.
The Government was to later sponsor him to study a diploma in journalism at the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication KIMC) from 1986 to 1989.
Immediately after the scholarship Maunda left KNA and moved to the VoK and worked alongside others such as Leonard Mambo Mbotela, Anunda Sakwa, Mohamed Juma Njuguna, and Patrobas Agawo as reporter, newscaster for radio and television.
In 2001, Maunda took early retirement to concentrate on music. In 2004, he was briefly deployed to be a lecture in journalism at KIMC, before quitting to join Mbaitu FM, a Kamba vernacular radio station. After only one-month stint at Mbaitu FM, Maunda resigned to join Musyi FM, yet another Kikamba vernacular radio station under Royal Media Services, as a senior news anchor and head of news.
In 2007, just before the General Election, Maunda composed a song, Musumbi Witu (Our President) in praise of Kibaki’s achievements (education and infrastructure), which the Kamba have gained from.
Family loving man
Maunda had two wives – Karen and Helena Maunda – and 14 children; 10 sons and four daughters. Karen, his first who was Tanzanian, died in 2010.
Mr Nzomo lauds him as a family loving man. “He was an honest, straightforward, humble person who ensured equal rights for all of us. He never condoned short-cuts and taught us virtues and how to pursue the right things,” says Nzomo.
His sons nicknamed him Transparency International because of his strictness and adherence to virtues.
They say, “This title coerced us towards the right track in life. That’s how we will forever remember him.” He was role model to his family and those outside home. It is because of this that some of his sons Abel, Gabriel, Samson, Stephen and Peter Maunda have also embraced music.
Musyi FM staff members who Maunda headed describe him as a good leader with dependable experience. Maunda will be buried next weekend in his Kilia home, Mukaa District, Makueni constituency.
