Uhuru fetes ‘Jim Reeves’ of Kisii County
Kepha Oyugi Bwonda, whose stage name is Pharry K. He was feted two weeks ago during Mashujaa Day as a hero for his life transforming music.
For many musicians, music is a way of earning money, an avenue for becoming famous and, generally, elevating one in the social class.
But for Mr Kepha Oyugi Bwonda, whose stage name is Pharry K, it is not all about the glamour of the trade he plies.
For him, it is a calling, a way of speaking to people and about changing lives for a better world.
He has been nicknamed Jim Reeves because of his music style and songs that are a complete replica of the late American country music icon.
Pharry K, who specialises in country music, was two weeks ago honoured by President Uhuru Kenyatta during the Mashujaa Day fete held at Gusii stadium.
“I was honoured because of music and the impact it has created right from Kisii and the world over. I help street children and take them for rehabilitation in a children's home where i'm the patron,” said Pharry K in an interview with Nation.Africa.
Through music, he says, “I have created awareness about the need to help the less fortunate.”
However, he admits that just like other musicians, he earns from music, weddings, funerals, functions, and corporate meetings among others.
He adds: “Representing Gusii in the world, I am the only artiste in Kenya that former President Daniel arap Moi approved to sing for, during his last ailing moments.”
“I was among the people who received his body after it was taken out of the aircraft and bade him farewell with a song "Totagote" in Kisii and later translated it into Kalenjin as "Momi Yosin.”
Pharry K loves dressing in a cowboy hat; his posture and mien that of an American country boy. His words easily depict the person he seeks to be.
His voice has been attracting hordes of Kenyan fans who are all too keen to listen to this raw talent of country music.
“In 2018, I was invited to a conference at the University of Texas together with Chief justice David Maraga who was the keynote speaker. I was invited to that conference as a singer,” says Pharry K.
The musician has a powerful melodious voice and sings country music in his Ekegusii language.
“Taking Kisii songs to the Western world saw me visit 15 states in America singing country music,'' said Pharry K.
He says he also comforts grieving souls across the nation through hymns of praise.
He said his music has won him two awards: Gusii All Stars United (GASU) and Radio Alliance Award USA.
But he could not go to the United States to collect the international award because he lacked a visa.
He also performed during national celebrations to commemorate the World Aids Day a year ago at the Gusii Stadium. The event wasd graced by First Lady Margaret Kenyatta.
The 31-year-old musician from Keumbu in Kisii County started singing in 2009 when he was a Form Four student at Itiero Boys' High School.
He later joined Kenyatta University to study literature but left in the third year after he was lured with a teaching job at Cambridge International School in Doha, Qatar.
But he did not finish his two-year contract, citing mistreatment by the school’s administrators.
“The Sh80,000 untaxed salary no longer meant anything to me and I had to come back home in 2014,” he said.
The situation in Doha also did not support his kind of music.
Devastated, he returned to Kisii to work on his first album, Christian Country Music. He followed it up with a second album, Glorious.
