Preparations are in top gear for a special show to mark the 49th anniversary of the founding of the legendary Congolese band Les Mangelepa Band. The show will be held on August 30, 2025 at Sensera Gardens in Kiembeni in Mombasa.
The event which is being organised by Panya Buku Entertainment will double up as the second anniversary of the death of mercurial singer Kalenga ‘Vivi’ Nzazi.
Vivi was a long-serving member of the group founded by Congolese musicians, who settled in Kenya in the mid-1970s. Vivi died in Nairobi in August 2023.
Speaking to the Saturday Nation earlier this week, Kabila Kabanze, one of the surviving members of the Mangelepa Band, said he was looking forward to the commemoration.
“Although we have not been involved in live concerts lately, we still remain active in studio recording sessions,” Kabanze said.
During the show, Kabanze will team up with fellow veterans Lutulu Kanicky Macky, Twikwale Wa Twikwale, Paddy Makani and the up-and-coming singer Toto Illunga.
According to the organisers of the event, Mombasa-based Ambro La Musica Band is expected to make a guest appearance during the free entry show.
Les Mangelepa Band was formed in July 1976 as an offshoot of Baba Nationale group that was led by the legendary Baba Gaston (Ilunga wa Ilunga).
It was Baba Gaston who brought the then talented young musicians from Lubumbashi, DR Congo to Nairobi.
Their musical journey began in 1972 in Tanzania, where they were based for almost three years before relocating to Nairobi in 1975.
The original Les Mangelepa band featured, among others, Mukala Kanyinda, Bwammy ‘Le Captaine’ Walumona (now living in Norway), Kasongo Fundi and Tabu Ngongo (based in Japan).
Mangelepa's popular songs
Other members of the group included Badibanga wa Tshilumba ‘Kaikai’, Mukala wa Mulumba ‘Bebe’, Lumwanga Mayombo, Lukangika Maindusa and William Tambwe Badibanga.
Badibanga, composed the evergreen Nyako Konya hit song, died in South Africa in February 2015.
Twikwale, who composed the hit song, Amua , was an all-round guitarist.
Walumona, who switched from secular to gospel music, is still remembered for his mastery of solo guitar in some of the group’s earlier popular songs such as Embakasi , Walter , Mimba and Aoko .
Elsewhere, Congolese songbird Faya Tess is scheduled to perform today in Boston, US. On August 23 she will be in St Louis, Missouri while her last show on August 30 will in Dallas, Texas.
In Kisumu, Benga songbird Linet Aluoch Pamba and her Karapull Jazz Band perform every Saturday and Sunday at the Kisumu Delta Club.
