‘Taya Dok’ singer causing a lyrical stir at Gor matches

Taya Dok says that “juogi” can strike at any time. 

“Sometimes I am in the middle of sleep, then juogi wakes me up. I have to record the song in my notebook, then work on it when I wake up. At times, I am at work on a building site, and a song comes to me. I will record it on my cell phone and refine it later," he says.

Read: Firecrackers, smoke bomb: Gor fans keeping Raila Odinga memory alive

His songs are causing a stir both in the stadium and on social media. Some accuse him of vulgarity, but he believes his songs are works of art. Most of the songs are not the kind you can dare repeat near your mother-in-law’s best friend.

But Taya Dok is unbowed. Would he be bothered if the people he should be respecting were to listen to him sing?

“Even if my mother-in-law were to listen to me singing, I am not ashamed. What we must know is that the stadium is not a church, and when I go to church I would sing the songs accepted there,” he says.

The 37-year-old says he discovered his talent right from childhood, continued with the same in primary school, but fine-tuned it when he joined the famous Maranda High School.

Although the lack of school fees forced him out of Maranda High School, finishing his secondary school education in a private school in Nairobi, that stint would prove propitious in later years.

A brief background on the Taya Dok name. It was first coined by supporters of the then Kamukunji Member of Parliament Nicholas Gor, whose campaign symbol was a lamp.

Campaigning for a return to parliament, his supporters would sing ‘Gor Taya Dok’. The song was later adopted by Gor Mahia fans to support their favourite team.

When ‘Taya Dok’ attended his first Gor Mahia match, it was love at first sight, and before long, he was leading songs in a small corner of the stadium. Then the old school tie network came into play.

Taya Dok says one day he ran into his mentor at Maranda High School’s music club, John Lawrence aka Lorenzo. Lorenzo, a seasoned media and PR professional as well as a die-hard Gor Mahia fan, encouraged Taya Dok to up his game in supporting the club.

Strong cheering squad

“When I first met Leonard at Maranda, he impressed me with his vocals as well as creativity. I recruited him to the music club, which I was heading. Years later, we would meet in Nairobi when I had just hung up my boots as a choir leader in Gor Mahia. He asked me to gift him a drum I used to beat during our games. I gave it to him.

“I must say I am very proud of Leonard and the fire he has brought to our terraces. Good thing with him is that he has taken the singing to what we call the Russia terraces and not the VIP side. 

“Interestingly, some people who loved to sit in the VIP section are now flooding “Russia” stands, bringing football to the people, one may say,” Lorenzo says.

Taya Dok has built a strong cheering squad that follows Gor Mahia to every part of the country whenever the team plays.

“We have nearly 100 members registered in our CBO, and our main objective is supporting our beloved club,” he says.

Last month, Taya Dok was part of the massive crowd of Gor supporters who travelled to Bondo to pay homage to the departed former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who was also the Gor Mahia patron.

But not all are impressed with the singer’s songs. 

Read: Charles Akonnor: My mission is to make Gor Mahia great again

“Some of his songs are very vulgar and can really embarrass you when you are in the company of people you respect. We should encourage the old Gor songs, which were always celebratory,” says a fan who chose anonymity.

Another fan sees it differently. According to him, the Gor cheering songs have always been vulgar, and the only difference is that with the rise of social media, people are now recording the songs and sharing them everywhere