When musician Charles Njagua Kanyi, popularly known as Jaguar, released hit song Kigeugeu i n 2011 about betrayal, little did he know that it would come to apply to his own political career.
The song has over the years come to capture the story of Jaguar the politician.
The song won him numerous awards in the entertainment industry. However, it has turned into a bitter pill to swallow as it has been used to taunt the youthful legislator in his nascent political journey that has seen him left high and dry and nursing one betrayal after another.
Opening like the book of Lamentations with the singer asking the earth to burst open and swallow him or just let him live alone because every time he trusts a human being, they end up betraying him, the hit song has served as a premonition of sorts with regard to Jaguar’s political life.
The musician-turned-politician has found himself lamenting after every party primaries, complaining about politicians turning “vigeugeu ” and serving him betrayal with a spade.
The ‘One Centimetre’ singer was but a centimetre away from Deputy President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) certificate for Starehe parliamentary seat before losing out to former Kamukunji MP Simon Mbugua.
The ‘Kioo’ hit maker has been left looking at the UDA certificate on the mirror after Mr Mbugua walked away with the coveted piece of paper following a late entry into the Starehe race.
But as Stefflon Don sang in ‘Pretty Girls’, “cry me a river but I hope you don’t drown”, MP Jaguar is afraid to cry again lest his tears mix with the city flash floods and sweep him down Nairobi River.
In 2017, it is his tears that saved him from being denied the ticket to fly the Jubilee Party flag in Starehe.
The Senior Chief Koinange Secondary School alumnus hit the headlines then when he was filmed sobbing after controversially losing in the Jubilee party nominations to veteran politician Maina Kamanda.
The tears worked magic as Jubilee eventually gave him the certificate while Mr Kamanda was instead nominated to Parliament.
But it was not to be this time around as UDA told him “you are going nowhere”, a reminder of his smash hit with South African duo Mafikizolo titled “Going Nowhere”.
After “kupangwa”, Jaguar took to social media saying Starehe residents “hawapangwingwi ” and that the will of the people could not be ignored.
He lamented that UDA denied the people of Starehe their democratic right to go to the ballot again and choose their leader. The party opted for opinion polls to decide whom to award a nomination certificate.
Consequently, the “Utaweza” hit maker announced that he would now be defending his seat as an independent candidate come August 9.
“I met with the people of Central ward na wamesema Starehe bila Jaguar si Starehe . By the will of the people I will be defending my seat as an independent candidate,” wrote Jaguar.
But as the clock ticks towards this year’s general election, the future looks uncertain for the politician who, no matter the outcome of the polls, has left a mark in both the entertainment and political scene in the country.
In November 2018, the MP was involved in a fistfight with Embakasi East MP Paul Ongili, alias Babu Owino, within Parliament buildings after the latter called President Uhuru Kenyatta a caretaker president.
In 2019, he was arrested for derisive remarks he made against foreign traders, accusing Ugandan and Tanzanian traders of taking over businesses meant for Kenyans.
He would threaten the traders with deportation, issuing a 24-hour ultimatum for the traders to leave or “we will remove them and we’ll beat them up and we will not fear anyone”.
The first-time lawmaker would be arrested for the inciting remarks, which saw him cooling his heels in the police cells.
In what was supposed to be an apology, he would inflame the situation more by saying his statement was meant for the Chinese, “who have invaded our markets”.
Not one to shy away from controversy and drama, the singer would a year later be arrested for transporting a mob to Nairobi’s Grogan area ostensibly to take over ownership of shops.
