That the legendary Mzee Ojwang’ has
been reduced to depending on charity for his medical bills should unsettle all
of us.
Benson Wanjau, 77, is the
personification of the improvisational comedy routine.
He and Mary Khavere (Mama Kayai)
took the unscripted genre of comedy and turned it into television gold in an
age during which both variety and creativity were in short supply.
The man first entered our lives in
Darubini on then Voice of Kenya in 1980.
Five years later, Vitimbi was born
and stayed on KBC for much of the next three decades. “Sisi hatuko kazi,
tuliambiwa tuondoke sisi tumezeeka,” his on-screen wife, Mama Kayai, said
outside the Lions Eye Hospital in Nairobi.
She claims they are out of work
after the national broadcaster kicked them out for being too old. Ojwang’s
plight only came to light when the Nairobi senator’s philanthropic-cum-public
relations outfit, Sonko Rescue Team, took him to the hospital.
It was a spectacle of Sonkoesque
proportions, exactly the way he likes to swoop in and save the day to get the
positive afterglow and reflected glory of his good deeds.
MASSES TO THE RESCUE
“Are we supposed to applaud this
“government generosity?” asked MkenyaMpya on the Nation’s website.
“How about reforming the NHIF so
that every Kenyan can receive quality medical care irrespective of their
economic and social status?” Deputy President William Ruto had just announced
that the government would pay for the actor-comedian’s medical expenses.
The ICT cabinet secretary, Dr Fred
Matiang’i, went to his bedside, ostensibly to convey the government’s best
wishes.
But he chose that inopportune moment
to also announce that KBC didn’t owe Ojwang’ any money as the Vitimbi crew’s
contract had ended. Such a sense of occasion the good doctor has!
“He has entertained three
presidents, been to every town and city, comedian Eric Omondi pointed out on
Instagram. “At the tender age of three, I watched Mzee Ojwang perform at the
Kisumu ASK Show and I knew I wanted to be a comedian and today, I am here.”
He, like Mary, was appealing to the
President to assist in restoring Ojwang’s dignity. An online appeal had been
set up by some do-gooders and both Airtel Money and M-Pesa were pushing
accounts for depositing donations.
In his hour of need, it is the
masses that rallied to save him.
Undoubtedly, Mzee Ojwang’s plight is
not unique. 'Jeff Koinange Live' has become a popular pitstop for often
washed-up, impoverished former sports stars seeking rehabilitation and national
attention again.
“Are our artistes investing anything
on health cover and old age?” asked Dr Matiang’i’s aide, Mr Dennis Chebitwey.
“Ojwang’ is always drunk.”
With such an attitude, little wonder
we use national heroes for nothing more than ratings magnets and maybe a little
public relations.
Mama Kayai, Ojwang’, and the entire
Vitimbi cast were engaged by KBC as “artistes” during their entire time at
Broadcasting House.
They weren’t eligible for medical
cover, pension or any other employment benefits. They were paid per episode and
that was it.
A KBC source claims that they
refused to have the show professionalised with an experienced producer and a
script, and instead chose to leave.
The circumstances of their
separation notwithstanding, this is not how a 30-year career dedicated to
public service should end.
NATIONAL CATHARSIS
It should be a blight on all of our
consciences that the man who once made us all laugh has been reduced to Sonko’s
showman charity.
That is not the memory his children,
Patricia Njeri and Michael Karira, should have of him.
They shared him with us, and yet we
didn’t return the favour when it was most necessary.
KBC, as well as the ministries of
culture and information and the government all bear the blame for this national
embarrassment.
Ojwang’ isn’t a celebrity who
squandered his best years and windfall before falling on hard times. Despite a
lifetime of work, he has nothing to show for it because he was never fairly
compensated for his contributions to national catharsis.
He dropped out of Form Two
because of financial difficulties but has more than made up for it by sharing
his immense talents with the world.
Ojwang’ isn’t just an old schoool
has-been; he is our history reflected back on us.
The game has changed, and comedy is
now awash with cash for the switched on.
But before NTV ever gave Daniel
“Churchill” Ndambuki and his band of funnies a platform and spawned an entire
industry, there was Vitimbi.
That should count for something.
Ojwang’ deserves better and we all failed him.
BY LARRY MADOWO.
E!News Kenya
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