Popular musician Jean Pierre Nimbona aka Kidum is known for his prowess in releasing hit songs such as Mulika Mwizi, Haturudi Nyuma and Mapenzi. However, underneath this talent lies a tale of challenges and hard times that shaped him to be who he is.
Speaking during an interview with a KTN journalist, Kidum revealed that in 1995, aged only 21years, he alongside 17 boys from his school hatched a plan to visit a neighbouring girls’ school in his home country Burundi.
Kidum overslept and failed to sneak out with the rest. They were all shot dead that night by security forces.
“It was God’s plan. The sleep came from God,” he remarked.
The group had carefully crafted a master plan on how they would sneak out at night and go through the forest to visit the school which was famous for having striking beauties.
Everything seemed to be going according to plan until the last moment.
They opted to leave Kidum behind as they perceived him to be a threat in matters of tuning ladies.
“They wanted to dodge me. I was a threat to my friends. They knew I had the charisma to woo ladies,” he stated.
Kidum overslept and by the time he woke up, all his friends had left. He alleges that an informant may have leaked information that the boys wanted to join a rebel group thus leading security forces to lay an ambush in the forest.
The following day, the Burundi army declared a state of emergency and ordered closure of the school. They also threatened to attack the school for allegedly breeding rebels.
This civil unrest in his country led Kidum to seek greener pastures and his dad advised him to leave Burundi.
“He sort of sent me away because he felt I would join the rebels,” he stated when asked about his dad.
With only 60 Dollars in his pocket, Kidum started his new journey.
He manoeuvred his way from Burundi to the streets of Tanzania where he slept hungry for several days before his country’s embassy gave him a ticket to Kenya where he ended up at Kakuma Refugee Camp.
He linked up with a bass guitar player in Kenya and slowly honed his musical skills.
It took him 4 years to start writing his own songs but he gradually rose through the ranks to become one of the best in the music industry.
He was named Best Male Artist of East Africa at the 2012 Kora Awards.
Here is part of the interview:
[video:]
