“Today, I might have held the rank of a senior police officer, or I could have faced dire circumstances in the line of duty.” This is the alternate life that Kikuyu musician Kamande wa Kioi envisions for himself had he not made the decision to leave the police force over two decades ago.
Kamande, known for his hit songs like “Mami nikii wekire baba,” “Kaana funny,” and “Miau kapussy gakwa,” stands as a prime example of defying societal expectations.
Born as the seventh child in a family of nine in Kambiti, Murang’a, Kamande’s journey into the Kenya Police was a unique one. He entered the force due to his remarkable skills as a guitar player and a budding singing career.
In a recent interview on Kameme FM, Kamande revealed that he took a significant risk by running away with school fees, which he used to establish a hotel business without his family’s knowledge. Unfortunately, he lost his business to a fire, leading him to return to his village, where he began entertaining people for a modest fee. His guitar-playing skills had been honed during his time in Standard Six.
It was during this period that an opportunity presented itself when a police band visited his locality. Kamande seized the chance and was recruited into the police force without his parents’ awareness. Within a few months, he found himself stationed at the Dog Section in Nyeri, all while still being part of the police band.
However, when he visited his village dressed in full police uniform with a gun by his side, his father was so taken aback that he fled. The villagers perceived him as an outsider and even an enemy, which soured his opinion of his new profession. Kamande persisted in the force for seven years, but when his paternal grandmother passed away, he discovered that she had placed a curse on his police career.
“During the Mau Mau uprising, police officers killed five of her children, and she held a deep-seated resentment against them. She had warned her surviving children never to allow their offspring to join the police force,” Kamande recounted.
Fearing the possibility of a cursed or ill-fated life, Kamande decided to resign from the police force and ventured to Nairobi to start a matatu business.
