Vihiga Boys High School was crowned national champion in the Zilizopendwa with Live Instrumental Accompaniment category, at the 98th Kenya Music Festival currently underway at Kibabii University in Bungoma County.
The school won over adjudicators with a technically precise and emotive rendition of Tabu Ley Rochereau’s Rhumba Classic Amilo, a song about heartbreak, in a performance that showcased seamless coordination between human voices and live brass instruments.
Senende Boys High School emerged second with an arrangement of Beniko’s popular soukous hit Asinata, while defending champions Ugenya High School finished third with Franco Luambo Makiadi’s Tangawizi.
Ugenya nonetheless drew enthusiastic applause from the audience after combining the classic rhumba track with contemporary Kenyan street choreography, incorporating the viral Anguka Nayo, Odi dance and Kuduro styles into its routine.
Congolese rhumba and French-language compositions dominated the category, with songs by African music legends including Franco Luambo Makiadi, Madilu System, Tabu Ley Rochereau and Tshala Muana featuring prominently.
Lenana School paid tribute to Franco through a theatrical rendition of Mario, earning praise for its inclusive performance after integrating two students using wheelchairs into the main choreography.
Butere Girls was also among the notable female ensembles, presenting Tshala Muana’s Dezo Dezo, with a prominent trumpet section used to reinforce the song’s critique of excess.
Kipsigis Girls opted for South African pop, presenting Yvonne Chaka Chaka’s Motherland, while Athi River Senior School, competing as a mixed ensemble, performed Samba Mapangala’s classic Vunja Mifupa.
Other notable entries included Mang’u High School’s tribute to Madilu System through Djaffar, Pumwani Boys’ rendition of Malawian musician Onesimus Muzik’s Kalibo and Taru Boys’ performance of Ombi la kuishi maisha mema.
The competition was, however, not decided by audience reaction alone, with adjudicators applying strict technical criteria in determining the final standings.
They noted that several fan-favourite choirs lost marks after failing to properly balance their live bands with vocalists. Some schools used excessive brass instruments that drowned out the singers, while others were penalized for failing to properly notate their submitted musical scores.
The emphasis on technical execution was also evident in the choral verse categories sponsored by Equity Bank.
Adjudicators cautioned trainers against poor script interpretation, monotonous renditions and rushing through scripts.
The Equity-sponsored categories were anchored on the sub-theme, Sustainable Transformation for a Resilient Future: Protecting Our Environment, Empowering Our Communities for Wealth Creation.
Speaking during the awards ceremony, Equity Bank Director of SME Banking Collins Wanyonyi said the bank was rewarding teachers to recognise their role in nurturing talent among learners.
“When Equity decides to reward our teachers, it is a deliberate move to celebrate exceptional talent. Today, we are seeing a growing number of educators producing top-tier performances, and it is important that we recognize their efforts,” Wanyonyi said.
He urged learning institutions to strengthen their commercial relationships with the bank to help sustain its multi-million-shilling sponsorships and investments in the education sector.
Wanyonyi said Equity had invested across the education ecosystem, from kindergartens to universities, through initiatives including solarisation projects, school-fee collection services and teacher financing of up to 141 months.
“To help us expand these sponsorships next year, I encourage all institutions to partner with us through our commercial banking services,” he said.
Environmental conservation was also a key component of the bank’s engagement at the festival.
Edwin Wanyonyi, Equity Bank’s Busia Branch Manager, said the bank’s tree-planting campaign had surpassed its target, with more than 15,000 trees planted at a single university.
He urged participating institutions to nurture the seedlings to maturity, saying this would help advance the sustainability goals underpinning the initiative.
“Our core message to these institutions is to actively nurture these seedlings to maturity so we can collectively achieve our sustainability goals,” he said.
By Chris Mahandara
