Some 12 years ago, Kenya lost a musician who was described by many as a political seer. The death of Daniel Owino Misiani, whose music contributed in shaping the modern benga beat, dealt a blow to a genre of music that was birthed in Africa decades’ ago.
Misiani’s fans still miss his ‘prophecies' that were a beautiful integration in his music.
Daniel Owino Misiani was born on February 22, 1940 in the Mara region of Tanzania. He grew up in Nyamagongo, a sleepy village in the north of Shirati in Tanzania.
As a teen, he played percussion in a local acoustic group. Beatrice Atieno Owino, his wife and long-time band member, narrates that Misiani’s father was a staunch Christian who never tolerated playing secular music amongst his children.
"Misiani’s first guitar was smashed into pieces by his devoutly Christian father," says Beatrice, who is known by her stage name Queen Babito.
Misiani settled in Nairobi in 1964, where he recorded his first compositions with Victoria Boys Band before forming his own outfit called Shirati Luo Voice.
Misiani acquired his first electric guitar in 1965, and he began his own productions under a new band, Shirati Jazz Band.
In his decades’ long career in music, Misiani was popular because of his political songs that often caused him trouble with the authorities.
For instance, in 1990 when former foreign affairs minister Robert Ouko was assassinated, he belted a song lamenting the alleged torture and assassination of the slain minister. This was not taken kindly by the authorities, who arrested him. When he released "Bim en Bim" in 2006, a song made using figurative language, he was also interrogated by the authorities.
Most of Misiani’s songs were pro-change in the country and that is the reason why many of his fans considered him prophetic.
In 2005, just after the failed constitutional referendum, he released a track, ODM, that prophesised the 2007 post-election turmoil in the country.
Misiani’s relentless music life earned him international popularity, too. Because of his wry and provocative lyrics, his exposure to an international stage in 1980s suffered a blow when he was denied a passport for Shirati Jazz’s only European tour at that time.
However, a meeting at Nairobi’s APS studio with producer Ben Mandelson and journalist Werner Graebner resulted in a 1989 composition, "Piny Ose Mer", which means the world has gone astray. This earned him instant international acclaim.
That same year, the compilation Benga Blast, also hit retail in most states in the US.
In 2004, Misiani headlined a brief US tour where his band held successful tour of America’s states.
Misiani churned over 50 music albums in his long, yet illustrious music career.
Beatrice Owino, Misiani’s wife who now leads the band, has profound and kind words for a man she terms as a hero.
‘‘Misiani’s fans and the band still owe a lot of respect to him because of his un-matched talent and wisdom in his career as a musician. We do not have an option but to follow his footsteps as a band,’’ says Ms Beatrice.
Misiani died in a road accident on 17 May 2006 in Kisumu, on the highway to Kakamega.
