South C's finest: Remembering E-Sir 20 years on
Issah Mmari, popularly known as E-Sir.
On March 16, 2003, exactly twenty years ago, Kenyans were unaware that tragedy would strike, taking the life of a popular and promising young artiste.
On that Sunday morning, popular musicians E-Sir (Issah Mmari Wangui) and Nameless (David Mathenge), who had just concluded a performance at Afraha Stadium in Nakuru, were travelling back to Nairobi to prepare for another concert later in the day.
The inseparable duo were full of life.
And, at some point of the journey, E-Sir asked his friend Monsky, as he fondly called Nameless, to change seats. This act changed the lives of the two friends forever.
Later in the journey, their driver lost control of the vehicle, it swerved and crashed, killing E-Sir on the spot and leaving Nameless with a broken collarbone.
“He moved me from the seat where I would have died. ‘No, let’s sit here’ he insisted when I questioned why he wanted me to change seats. He moved me without knowing he was saving me. I always ask myself why did God do that,” Nameless narrated to Nation.Africa in an interview in 2021.
At the time of his death, E-Sir was 21 years old. The Bomba Train hit maker would have been 41years old today, had he survived.
For the last 20 years, Nameless has always remembered E-Sir every March 16, heaping praises on his friend.
The father of three maintains that he feels like he has the obligation to keep E-Sir’s legacy alive.
“I met E-Sir when I joined Ogopa. Already, I had a name having released my first hit, Megarider (1999). We became very close. We were good friends. We would perform shows together, spend time in the same room. He was like my younger brother and I really liked his vibe,” Nameless says.
Also read: Where would E-Sir be?
The two formed an unbreakable bond, both on and off-stage, for the two years they were together.
“He was always a quiet guy, only talked when we needed to,” Nameless adds.
E-Sir’s lyrical ability and command of the Kiswahili language in his music made his popularity grow, with many referring to hi as 'SOuth C's finest'. He released his only album Nimefika with half of the songs turning out to be hits.
Also read: E-Sir’s memory still burns bright
Commemorating him on Thursday, Nameless thanked E-Sir for his “authentic friendship”.
“It’s been 20 years since you left us on that fateful 16th March morning. Bro, thank you for helping me see what true synergy and authentic friendship feels like. Our mutual respect produced amazing results that have lasted generations. Keep resting well my friend,” Nameless posted on his social media pages.
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