I was born in Kakamega, in a place called Ikolomani. We were brought up in a village where people do a lot of gold mining. Also my family, they did this. I have five brothers and four sisters. One brother is living here with me, the others stayed in Kakamega. I arrived in Kibera only last month. My cousin had told me to visit him, so when I came he introduced me to Kica.

Music is something I always wanted to do in my life. That’s why when I found Kica doing this, I decided to stay. In Kakamega it was more difficult – there was no organisation like here. I used to play alone in the house. Life in Kibera is different from the one in Kakamega. Here, you need money for everything, even for water.

I like smiling. I don’t get angry that easily, but when I do, it’s real. Sometimes I’m stressed. Then, I play the guitar and I feel cool. I feel that it’s okay.

As a child, I was very shy. I never liked staying in a crowd. Going to school was hard. They used to bully me a lot. Sometimes my brother would come and deal with them. He was beating them up! I just tried to be persistent and continue my education. But when I reached form two, I dropped out, due to a lack of school fees. For about two and a half years, I didn’t go to school. Then I went back. Last year, I finally finished my form four.

My uncle helped me a lot. He was the one who decided to pay my school fees. My mother and father have also been important to me. Even my religious leaders, my pastors… They have helped me get through harder times. They’ve encouraged me. My mother and grandmother saw me playing and they told me: “You should pursue this.” And of course my brother, he introduced me to music. He was a very good singer. When he sang, it was as if he had two voices at a time. It seems impossible but that’s how he did it. He impressed me so much.