Growing up in the villages in the 1980s, life was far removed from what it is today. There were no smartphones with alarm clocks to wake us up early for school, which in those days was scattered kilometers apart. Neither were there alternative ways of reading the time.

Roosters, who probably relied on temperature and light to wake up the villages, occasionally got it all wrong. For that reason, the responsibility of waking everyone up was bestowed on the radio. In those days, only three stations were accessible through a shortwave transistor receiver: VOK English, Swahili, and Vernacular services. The Kiswahili service was the most popular. The station opened at 5 a.m. with the signature tune “Uvivu Mbaya” by the Maroon Commandos. Over the years, the song became synonymous with the daily struggle of life.

Those who woke up to work in the farms, in industries, or to go to school all looked forward to that signature tune, which signified a new day and renewed hope. The song became a clarion call for work, almost equivalent to the Congolese line “salongo alinga mosala.”

This irreplaceable segment of life means the role that the band played occupies a significant place in many people’s memories.

The tune began with a saxophone line performed by the band’s founding member, Major David Kibe, followed by the words “uvivu adui mkubwa kwa ujenzi wa taifa” — admonishing laziness and calling everyone to wake up and build the nation.

The band behind the song was the iconic Maroon Commandos, a military band based at Lang’ata Barracks in Nairobi, home to the 7th Kenya Rifles, an infantry battalion. The band prides itself on several firsts, with its age being the most outstanding. A person born at the time the band began is today 55 years old and almost headed for retirement. That very few bands survive long enough even to celebrate their tenth anniversary only buttresses the iconic status of this group.

As narrated by Major David Kibe in a YouTube interview, the story of the Maroon Commandos began in 1969 when a group of young Kenyan musicians from the Strollers Band, who performed at Bamboo Night Club on River Road, Nairobi, were approached for possible enlistment into the military. The Strollers had been in existence for two years, previously performing at the popular Sabina Joy.

This recruitment was an initiative of Lt. Col. J. M. Wambua, also known as Nyeusi, who deserves recognition as the father of the Maroon Commandos. While serving as the first commander of the then Gilgil-based 7th Battalion (7 KR), he conceived the idea of creating a band for his unit and tasked his adjutant, Captain Muchemi, who went prospecting for talent to create the band. He had patronized joints that the Strollers performed at and had always been elated by the sheer talent in the boys.

Musicians such as Ibrahim Ringo, Juma Kizito, Habel Kifoto, Peter Masheti, Shem Shisia, Joel Muchiri, Jared Otieno, Tonny Sobayen, and John Kimani were enlisted into the military and taken to Lanet in Nakuru for mandatory military drills. Upon completion, they were posted to Gilgil, then the headquarters of the 7th Battalion.

It is worth noting that the battalion later shifted to Nairobi, which is why the band, initially based in Gilgil, eventually relocated to the city.

For the young men who had previously hustled for survival in a tough city, life now took a new turn with salaries, free food, free accommodation, state-of-the-art equipment, and other privileges. Their sole responsibility was to make music. This new reality pushed their output and creativity to its peak.

As David Kibe, who began as a vocalist before training as a guitarist and later settling as a saxophonist, explains, the band initially played cover versions of rhythm and blues, Congolese rumba, and Kenyan music such as that of D. O. Misiani. But they needed something uniquely theirs, and that is how the slow-paced Swahili rumba style was born.

In the formative days, Joel Muchiri played solo guitar while Habel Kifoto played bass.

The band’s privileges did not end with the welfare offered by the employer. They extended to a space critical for any musical outfit’s success. Apart from entertaining during military events, the band was naturally invited to perform before dignitaries at state functions in Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, and Eldoret. They were even invited to perform during Namibia’s Independence celebrations in Windhoek in 1983. They also graced the opening event of the All-African Games in Nairobi in 1987.

Maroon Commandos, popularly known as Wana Maroon (after the official colors of the 7th Battalion), produced many other songs besides “Uvivu Mbaya.” One of their earliest major hits, Charonyi Ni Wasi,  a Taita song about the difficulties of urban life, was released in 1978 and shattered the glass ceiling in terms of popularity. The song was on everyone’s lips. Over the years, the band has released tens of albums comprising hundreds of songs.

Among their notable tracks are Dada Mdaku, Dawa Nimuone Hani, Usiniambie Unaenda, Betty, Aida, Sophia, Dotty, Riziki, and Safari, among many others. The band also recruited many other musicians over time, including Paul Mwandembo, Laban Ochuka, and Tuesday Oguro.

Habel Kifoto, who led the band for many years and was himself a founding member, was an exceptionally talented musician. Born at the Coast and passing away in 2011 at the age of 62, he had retired from the military in 2009. Kifoto was a gifted guitarist, playing both solo and rhythm, and an excellent keyboardist — as demonstrated in “Usiniambie Unaenda.” He also began as a bassist. He was a gifted composer and vocalist who wrote the band’s first song, Emily in 1971, produced by Polygram, and the hit Charonyi Ni Wasi, Uvivu Mbaya, and many others.

A fan, Elphas Ambundo, who attended Kifoto's burial, noted the burial of the music genius was a low-key event attended by a handful of friends and former colleagues, an indication that the authorities hadn’t done much to recognize these musical legends.

One of the band’s saddest moments came in 1972 when they were involved in an accident that led to the death of saxophonist Peter Masheti. The devastated band went into a lull that lasted a few years before they made a comeback.

After Kifoto’s departure, leadership of the band passed to Albert Tuesday Oguro, who later handed it to David Kombo. Kombo later passed the leadership baton to Magneto and Diwani Nzaro. The iconic band continues to perform in various venues, with their most recent concert taking place during KDF Day in Eldoret.

Other military bands of the era included the Blue Rangers Band of 5 KR, the Scarlet Band of 3 KR in Lanet, the Moi Air Base Air Raiders Band, the Yellow Wagoners, the Navy Pirates Band, the Green Rovers Band, the O’Rangers of Moi Barracks in Eldoret, led by Lenga, and Ulinzi at the DoD Headquarters.

There is no doubt that this band, which has outlived most of its contemporaries, is an important part of the country’s history.

By Jerome Ogola

Jabulani Radio

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