Fast-rising spoken word artist Willie Oeba got Kenyans talking with his release of 'Dear Mr President', a hard-hitting six-minute piece addressed to President Uhuru Kenyatta. On Sunday, April 5, Oeba spoke to Kenyans.co.ke on the video released on Friday, April 3, his message to the president and the creative process behind it.
In the video that has since gone viral (see end of story), Oeba called out the president and his administration from the perspective of the youth, laying bare unfulfilled promises and government failures including corruption and youth unemployment.
Using witty spoken word rhymes in Swahili, Sheng' and a bit of English, Oeba further questioned why it took so long for the government to suspend flights into the country as Covid-19 continued to strike fear in Kenyans' hearts.
"Dear Mr President, hatungekubali io ndege iingie (We shouldn't have allowed that flight to come), or what's your take? Why take precautions after making careless mistakes? Saa hii tunasuspend learning while in real sense tungesuspend flights (Now we are suspending learning when we should have suspended flights). Correct me if I'm wrong, but truth is, its wrong we trusted some of you with our rights.
"Dear Mr President, do you know the youth of tomorrow are dying today? Dear Mr President, hawa watoto wa CBC nani atawafunza hio uh? (Who will teach these children under the competence-based-curriculum (CBC) uh? Tumechoka (We are tired), even Rihanna doesn't want you to stay. Thieves at night are the government of the day.
"Dear Mr President, what word means more to you, is it the word voters or citizens? Na kama unajali, mbona wakulima hawajapata dividends. Na kama unajua wezi ni kina nani, kwa nini unangoja evidence? (And if you care, why haven't the farmers been paid dividends. And if you know the thieves, why are you waiting for evidence?)
"Ufisadi kwa serikali yako ni zii. Sasa Corona itumade ju mko na deni ya Jet Li? Bado mabilioni zinaibiwa kwa nchi economy ni mbaya, kuna kitu mnajua na hamtuambii (Corruption in your government is serious, now Coronavirus will kill us because you owe China? Billions are being stolen from a struggling economy, is there something you know and we don't?)," a fed-up Oeba rhymes.
Speaking to this writer, Oeba revealed that 'Dear Mr President' was the latest installment from his series of releases on social justice dubbed 'Truth Is'.
One of his 'Truth Is' releases was even picked up by popular rapper King Kaka as the fourth release in his 'Wajinga Nyinyi' series which caused quite a stir.
On previous 'Truth is' releases, Oeba revealed that he had focused on calling out specific ills in society and leaders such as MPs and cabinet secretaries but this time, he chose to address the president directly as the buck stops with him.
Oeba, who has been doing poetry since high school but only got serious with spoken word in 2014, revealed that veteran rapper Juliani was one of his biggest inspirations as an artist due to his focus on social justice.
"They say that artists are a reflection of society. But I also feel that artists should be leaders in their own right. Artists have a platform that attracts people, you gain the trust of people, so we should use art as a tool to influence social change," he noted.
Oeba revealed that he hoped his music would lead to an awakening among the youth of his generation to ditch negative ethnicity that has plagued the country for decades.
"The biggest problem is the electorate because we elect these people based on their tribe and defend them when they do evil because they're from our tribe.
"Our generation, the youth, aren't as lost and divided in negative ethnicity as their parents' generation, for example. So I hope that my music leads to an awakening among the youth. We are the ones enabling these people, we can very easily cut them off and end this trend," he asserted.
In his career, Oeba has been recognised on several occasions for his talent at events such as Blaze Summits and Slam Africa, and is the reigning East Africa Spoken Word Battle King after being crowned at a competition in Nairobi in 2018.
He explained that the Covid-19 crisis had hit youth and artists hard, explaining that tax relief measures announced by President Uhuru Kenyatta for salaried workers and companies did nothing for self-employed and unemployed youth.
"Artists and so many other youths are either self-employed or unemployed. A lot of them depend on gatherings to make a living, for example in entertainment joints or markets.
"The measures we are hearing about tax reliefs for certain job groups doesn't help them at all. I wish the government would find a way to also assist this category of Kenyans, not just employees and companies," he stated.
Watch Oeba's 'Dear Mr President' below:
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