Peter Roshilo Atika, the musician mostly known for the Luhya song Moyo Kwahenya (The Heart Wants), never imagined that another track he wrote in 2020 would become the soundtrack to a defining political moment.
Yet, when people decided to stand with Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna during chaos at a recent political rally in Kakamega, it was Roshilo’s voice that gave them the courage to stay.
Peter Roshilo's 'Vasatsa yavo' official video
The artiste's very name, Roshilo, is a localised tribute to the rhumba maestro Tabu Ley Rochereau, a name given to him by his father out of a deep love for the legendary musician.
Roshilo explains his joy at how serendipity and divine timing brought his song Vasatsa yavo (Those are Men) to the forefront. The track was played just as Mr Sifuna was urging Kenyans at a rally in Amalemba, Kakamega County, not to flee despite the unfolding chaos.
“Today we will not run away; just cover the teargas canister with a jacket. This meeting must continue,” said the embattled Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Secretary General during the tense gathering.
Sifuna, Orengo camp takes Kakamega by storm
Roshilo originally wrote the song in 2020 as a cry for help, encouraging men to show up and show strength during the difficult dusk to dawn curfews of the pandemic.
He says the idea came from observing how men found outside during the curfews would scamper when they encountered authorities, instead of standing and facing what lay ahead.
“I released the song three years ago, and God knew there would be a perfect timing for it. I do not know the Deejay and have never met him to ask him to add my music to his music set. But I felt so good when I saw it play and, all of a sudden, people stood there in bravery. Now people are listening and asking what it actually meant,” Roshilo said.
He added that the song was effectively "relaunched" at the Linda Mwananchi rally under the ODM wing led by Mr Sifuna, Embakasi East MP Babu Owino and Siaya Senator James Orengo.
“I never knew it would ever be associated with politics. It went according to the timeline and the moment,” said Roshilo.
The lyrics, sung purely in Luhya, ask, “Where are the men?” followed by the powerful response: “Where are they; these are the men.”
In a remarkable twist of fate, the song even mentions the name Edwin as it asks where the men are.
Deejay Sniper, a veteran disk jockey who had worked with the late party leader Raila Odinga explained on X social media platform that Roshilo’s song was a deliberate choice to earmark courage and bravery in the face of intimidation. He noted that the people stood their ground, and the song became the anthem for that resilience.
“Teargas may fill the air, but the music plays on. Everyone is asking for the title of the song that sound tracked the moment the SG told the crowd to douse the canisters. If you are next to a Luhya, now is the time to ask them for a translation,” said the deejay.
While Roshilo has not yet met Sifuna, he believes the Senator should continue his fight without fear, just as the song suggests.
“No one has contacted me from their end, but fans say I should redo the song as a Sifuna anthem. I believe in the message that if you want to do something, you should do it without fear. You go after it with all you have,” Roshilo said.
For the musician, it was a moment where culture and timing collided. It proved that good music never dies; it simply waits to play its part when the right moment arrives.
“I am overjoyed. I wrote the song in Luhya and it could not be sung in any other language, but even people who do not understand the language are asking what Vasatsa yavo means,” he said.
With a repertoire that includes Moyo Kwaheny a, which boasts over 2.5 million views on YouTube, Roshilo is happy to see his work continue to push the "boy child" to stand up and claim their place in society.
