In the 1990s, there was no bigger name in Kenya than king of kwasa kwasa Kanda Bongo Man. Known for his electrifying performances, he could sing, dance, and effortlessly fill stadiums with eager fans. In 1991, his performance at Nyayo Stadium was packed to the brim, attracting prominent personalities, including ministers from the late President Daniel arap Moi’s cabinet.
The musician from DR Congo (then Zaire) did not realize that powerful forces within the government were orchestrating his deportation and eventual ban from the country. According to celebrated radio presenter Fred Obachi Machoka, government operatives contacted him and instructed him to tell Kanda Bongo Man to leave the country immediately.
“So nikaingia kwa room nikapata Kanda Bongo man amevaa vizuri ready to come down and perform, and he was in very good mood. I told him, ‘Kanda, kumeharibika’”, (loosely translated: I entered Kanda Bongo Man’s room and found him well dressed preparing for his show. He was in a good mood. I told him, ‘Kanda, things are bad),” he shared on Hot 96.
Recounting the events that led to his deportation, the seasoned radio presenter said the news caught Kanda off guard. He asked why he was being told to cancel his show, to which Machoka explained that the demands had come from State House and he had not been given any reason.
After stepping out of the room, they encountered police officers who informed the king of kwasa kwasa that he had to leave the country. He asked how he would depart since Air France had already left. The officers told him he would leave on the first available flight the following day.
The next day, Fred visited the hotel and found police officers still stationed outside Kanda’s room at the Stanley Hotel. Kanda informed them that he would leave on the Air France flight departing that night at 10 PM. The officers instructed him to go to the airport, where he would wait for his flight.
Obachi drove Kanda to Jomo Kenyatta Airport and was allowed access to the departure lounge. Before leaving, Fred pressed the officers to explain why Kanda was being deported.
“…wakaniambia kuna msichana ambaye alikuwa girlfriend wa Moi na Kanda Bongo Man akapita naye. Msichana gani, ‘eti Catherine Kasavuli’…(They told me there was a woman who was the girlfriend of President Moi, and Kanda Bongo Man had been involved with her. I asked, ‘Which woman?’ and they replied, ‘Catherine Kasavuli),’” shared the ‘Blackest Man in Africa.’
Machoka refuted these allegations, stating that he was with the Congolese musician every minute of his stay in the country.
When they arrived at the airport, they saw Catherine Kasavuli on TV reading the news. “I asked Kanda, ‘Do you see that woman on TV?’ He replied, ‘TV girl, very beautiful.’ I then asked if he knew her, and he said he didn’t have an idea who she was.
Machoka believed that based on Kanda’s reaction, he was telling the truth. After Kanda left the country, the radio presenter began his own investigation.
Machoka recalled that before Kanda performed at the KICC, he had been staying at the Intercontinental Hotel. While at the hotel, Hezekiah Oyugi, the powerful Permanent Secretary of Interior Security during the Moi era, had requested that Kanda perform at his daughter’s wedding in Rongo. However, Kanda refused, stating that he didn’t perform at private functions.
Instead, Kanda suggested they invite Tshala Muana, who was in the country at the time. Fred believed that Oyugi must have felt slighted and used the rumored relationship between President Moi and Catherine Kasavuli as a way to get back at Kanda.
The late queen of TV refuted claims that he was romantically involved with Kanda Bongo Man.
Interestingly, the Congolese musician was in love with a Kenyan woman, Rose Wambui Wahito. His affection for this Kenyan beauty, who later married Mombasa businessman and East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) Member of Parliament Suleiman Shahbal in 1999, was immortalized in the song Wahito.
