Song and Dance in African Leadership

One of the final things that the late Senator Mutula Kilonzo did was the last thing many imagined the leader doing – he danced in public. The then Education Minister was presiding over Education Day at Chango secondary when he joined the dancing team of Vihiga Boys’ High School in one of their “teremka, teremka” moves. For a politician who is renowned for his stoicism and no-nonsense intellectualism, this was literally a “move” out of his norm.

But our leaders are not strangers to song and dance. There is a peculiar momentary musical germ that seems to infect many an African political podium. Most leaders have obeyed the enchantment and gone off script to yield their vocal chords and muscles to the rhythm of the moment.

Photo courtesy: hipipo.com

Uganda President Yoweri Museveni’s made global headlines with his 2010 hit “You Want another Rap?” Museveni first rapped the song at a youth rally after revealing that he had recently learned about "the black African roots of hip hop music." After rapping a few of his own lines at the event, a music Producer took up the rhymes, added some beats and a chorus “Yes, Sevo” and released a package took the Ugandan and international airwaves by storm.

Here at home, Homa-Bay Senator Otieno Kajwang’s “Mapambano” chorus has virtually become the anthem for the Orange Democratic Movement. But some people have complained that the theme of “struggle” in the tune makes the politicians seem as if they are still in the pre-colonial era and should find a more “updated” remix.

Another iconic tune is the “yote yawezekana” (all is possible) line that was popularized by former Minister Dr Mukhisa Kituyi. The line “yote yawezekana bila Moi” (all is possible without Moi) was fossilized after the 2002 elections as the regime-change anthem from Moi’s 24-year rule that saw many Kenyans born and reach adulthood without knowing any other president in their lifetime.

Former president Moi himself seemed to have an undying love for dong and dance. While most political leaders would often only include song and dance in campaign rally, Moi would have them at every opportunity he got. Though he has never belted out a tune (unless in the shower), Moi would often be seen dancing with women and children at his political rallies or at the airport after flying back into the country.

With his “rungu” in hand, the Kanu leader would sway to the drums and even lock arms with some of the sisal-skirted women. Like Moi, not many leaders have dared to sing in public, but many have embraced the song and even danced to the tunes that have livened their political rallies and functions. These include former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, President Uhuru Kenyatta and many others.

The unopposed king of song and dance in the Kenyan playlist is former Cabinet Minister Chirau Ali Mwakwere. His iconic “zipapa zipapa” tune has become an anthem in his political campaign rally. He is also a Congolese music enthusiast who is not ashamed to show off his Lingala dance moves now and then. Mwakwere’s love for (and performance of) Mijikenda music reveals a leader who is not willing to be bound by the seriousness often associated with the leadership position.

Leadership is serious business, or at least that’s what we like to believe. Leading millions is no laughing matter. Representing a whole country is not something to sing and dance about, or is it? The oxymoron that is a man in a suit dancing, or a politician punctuating his well-crafted speech with a song and a jig, is a familiar sight in most public functions in Kenya and Africa at large. But it seems not to fit well in a culture that has sidelined music to the realm of entertainment and nothing more.

But does song and dance have a place in African leadership, or is it just a sideshow that serves no utilitarian function? In a culture that has been for the most part transmitted through the oral tradition, music has played a pivotal role in transmitting cultural values, including political ideas. Ironically, entertainment has been the least and most recent function of music in leadership. The use of poetry and rhyme has helped in engraining political and cultural ideologies into the minds of the masses.

Music is powerful and has for the longest time been an indispensable tool in African politics.  It is no wonder that many musicians in different African countries have found themselves behind bars because of their political messages. But that seems to be changing. Most of the incidences of song and dance in African politics seem anecdotal at best and amusing at worst.

King David, the greatest King in Jewish history was a great lyricist. The famous songs in the Bible, the Psalms, were penned by this great administrator. He even got into trouble with his wife for dancing too much, to the point of being "undignified." While it was normal for leaders to sing and dance in the past, there seems to be an unwritten incongruence between song, dance and political leadership in the 21^st century.

King David dances his royal robes off. Photo courtesy: biblicalartist.net

Today, it seems leaders, like President Moi, should be sang to and danced to, and should not be the ones doing the dancing and singing. The entertainment aspect of music is increasingly taking center stage, and the leaders who persist in this ancient tradition are becoming the exceptions and the subjects of cultural analytical articles like this one.

Song and dance have been sidelined to pleasure, while leadership continues to be serious business, and we all know too well we should not mix business and pleasure, or should we?

Originally published in Daily Nation (DN2) May 16, 2014.