Hundreds of residents of Homa Bay on Lake Victoria in Western Kenya were treated to a hugely successful music concert on Saturday night by UN-HABITAT Messenger of Truth, Kenyan rap star Gidi Gidi. The HIV/Aids awareness concert supported by a local vernacular radio station, was the brainchild of Gidi Gidi. Eager residents started filling the stadium from as early as 8 am with some walking over 10 kilometers to reach the venue. “This is one of the best things we have ever seen in this town for a long time and my only request would be for UN-HABITAT to make this event more regular, maybe monthly or quarterly,” a reveler James Otieno, 22, said as he surveyed the packed stadium. Lined up were local musicians who thrilled the crowd with their singing and tantalizing dances. However, the one who almost brought the house down was a Japanese who plays a traditional eight stringed instrument known local as nyatiti. Having adopted a local name, Anyango, the Japanese musician who speaks the local Luo language as well as Kiswahili fluently, left the crowd asking for more from her impressive repertoire. After a long wait, the moment the crowd was waiting finally arrived and it was near chaos as they pushed and danced to Gidi Gidi’s songs. The crowd demanded that UN-HABITAT organize another performance. |
