J.M. Kariuki

Album: not on an album (1975)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Josiah Mwangi Kariuki served as a minister in the Kenya Government from independence until his assassination on March 2, 1975.

    It was widely believed that he was killed at the behest of someone in the government. Kariuki was of a left wing persuasion, probably his most famous quote was that after independence, Kenya had become a nation of ten billionaires and ten million beggars. The irony is that although not a billionaire, he was himself a very wealthy man. Kariuki died intestate, and his three wives were still squabbling over who got what a decade and more on.

    Kariuki was popularly known as JM, and this benga song, written by Joseph Kamaru, says whoever ordered his assassination would one day be rolled in a beehive watched by the entire population - a traditional punishment for thieves and witches.

    Clearly it struck the wrong note as it was banned by the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation on June 20, 1975. According to an essay by Peter Muhoro Mwangi in a 2006 book about music censorship in Africa, it is said to have earned Kamaru and his collaborators a whipping by the President himself after their arrest. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Tommy James

Tommy JamesSongwriter Interviews

"Mony Mony," "Crimson and Clover," "Draggin' The Line"... the hits kept coming for Tommy James, and in a plot line fit for a movie, his record company was controlled by the mafia.

Steely Dan

Steely DanFact or Fiction

Did they really trade their guitarist to The Doobie Brothers? Are they named after something naughty? And what's up with the band name?

David Gray

David GraySongwriter Interviews

David Gray explains the significance of the word "Babylon," and talks about how songs are a form of active imagination, with lyrics that reveal what's inside us.

JJ Burnel of The Stranglers

JJ Burnel of The StranglersSongwriter Interviews

JJ talks about The Stranglers' signature sound - keyboard and bass - which isn't your typical strain of punk rock.

Tim McIlrath of Rise Against

Tim McIlrath of Rise AgainstSongwriter Interviews

Rise Against frontman Tim McIlrath explains the meanings behind some of their biggest songs and names the sci-fi books that have influenced him.

George Clinton

George ClintonSongwriter Interviews

When you free your mind, your ass may follow, but you have to make sure someone else doesn't program it while it's wide open.