Karibu Magazine July 2022 (updated)

JACK OF ALL TRADES
MASTER OF NONE
The peculiar story of
Baraza J Namunyu
I am Baraza J Namunyu. But please
just call me Baraza. Or Balozi, if
you prefer. In fact, I have various
‘community’ names, so don’t be
confused. As a child, I was called
‘Baruzu’ for many years. In high
school, I was called ‘Munyuss’. In my
20s people just called me Namunyu.
Shortly after I came to live in the
UK in early 2006 the local Kenyan
community called me ‘Askofu’ -
which I carried for almost 12 years.
In 2020 a WhatsApp friend of mine
Mr. George Wachiuri ( CEO Optiven)
renamed me ‘Balozi.’ And now, in
some other circles recently, I am
known as ‘Brother Tiger’ (don’t even
ask!). Bwana George as I call him
was introduced to me by a fantastic
lady Maggie Wambugu, the girl who
proudly wears Optiven like a crown.
Bwana George and I have been great
brothers since.
Just as I have different frames of
reference, I have different skillsets
that somewhat have made me a Jack
of All Trades. How did this happen?
Please travel with me and I will tell
you. I was born in and grew up in The
Salvation Army (TSA). My parents
are retired TSA ministers ( ‘officers’
as we call them). All my life and till
the day they retired some years
ago, they served in TSA full time. As
such I was exposed to rich musical
and cultural TSA heritage. I took
much of this with me when I joined
Dagoretti High School in 1991 and
became a very successful (pioneer)
bandleader during my time in high
school. Our band won many major
trophies and awards at each Music
festival. When I finished high school
in 1994 I wanted to pursue a music
career through university, but such
opportunities were very limited
without a B- minimum. I had a C+
aggregate with a very good ‘A’ in
Music and B+ in English, but obviously
not enough to get me into university.
As an alternative, my father insisted
on either accounting or the KMTC as
a clinical officer or nurse (he knew
a contact). As it turned out, none of
these materialized since my grades
were too low - to my great relief too;
neither accounting nor KMTC was on
my radar anyway.
As I waited for what next, my dad
spoke with some contacts in the
Kenya Police Force and secured me a
place with the Kenya Police Band at
their Industrial Area base, Nairobi, for
6 months. The plan was to join the
police academy later on at Kiganjo for
another 9 months when recruitment
started. Alongside other recruits, I
attended band practice daily from
Monday to Friday for the entire 6
months. But as it turned out in the
end, I didn’t go to Kiganjo. I dropped
out at the last minute after I was
so frustrated by the system after I
stood out and spoke up against the
corruption I saw during the time.
After walking away from the police
narrative (or so I assumed) I enrolled
at a nondescript college for electrical
technicians in the Nairobi CBD near
the University of Nairobi. During my
first week in college, a senior police
sergeant from Kiganjo came looking
to arrest me. I was to be taken to
Kiganjo to explain why was not at
training. As it turned out the officers
at the industrial area had successfully
frustrated me out of Kiganjo, but my
file had somehow reachd the Police
Training School. Apparently, I was
AWOL, and it was a gross offence
and liable for disciplinary action.
Mind you, all this drama took place
in my absence, and these intense
66
5TH EDITION | JULY 2022