Veteran Kenyan musician Gabriel Omollo dies

Aginga, who is deemed as one of the most brilliant composers of the benga genre among his peers, died on 4 January at Busia District Hospital after a short illness. In 1974, Aginga became the first Kenyan musician to be awarded the international Golden Disc for hitting sales of 150 000 with his hit single ‘Lunchtime’ in East and West Africa.

When he heard of his death, radio broadcaster James Onyango praised the late artist’s prowess as a composer, saying that Aginga will be remembered for his enticing social commentaries.

With ‘Lunchtime’, Aginga captured the plight of the urban worker who could only afford a little luxury after payday. The song still resonates with the working class 40 years after its release,

In 1974, Aginga was awarded the Guinness Stout Effort Award for the hit song. In 2000, 30 years after the single’s release, late Kenyan artist Poxi Pressure and Kenyan-based Congolese musician Paddy Makani released a well-received remix of the song.

Even though he started singing in his church’s choir, Aginga’s career took off when he joined the Equator Sound Band that boasted greats such as Daudi Kabaka, Fadhili Juma, Zambian Nashil Pichen Kazembe and Peter Tsotsi and 

Tsotsi composed ‘Pole Musa’, one of the band’s most memorable hits on which Aginga played the track’s bass guitar. Later, Aginga joined Apollo Komesha Band and under Phonogram Records they wrote 20 singles and sold 300 000 copies, surpassing the combined sales of the other 80 bands that were signed under the label.

Listen to 'Lunchtime', his greatest hit below: