TANZANIA MUSIC HISTORY

The Short history of Dekula Kahanga Vumbi

Dekula Kahanga Vumbi

 To Tanzanian rhumba music lovers, Dekula Kahanga Vumbi is a very familiar name. Many people will tell you that they specially remember his guitar part in the song Ngalula because the vocalist Assossa, kept repeating Vumbi's name to show how deep he felt when Vumbi was playing the guitar phrase.
But where did Vumbi come from?
Vumbi is a Congolese who came from Kivu Province in Congo. He always wanted to play the guitar but his father did not at all want his son to be associated with music. Luckily his grandmother took him and they lived together in Uvira town, in Kivu Province. His grandmother like most grandmothers allowed him to do as he wished, so he started making and playing his guitars, every time his father visited them he would destroy Vumbi's home made guitars.
A few streets from where he lived with his grandmother, there was a Pub called  Sikiya sosi, a band called Gramick Jazz always performed there. Many Congolese musicians who went to Tanzania, passed through this band including Remmy Ongala.
Vumbi would listen to the music played by the Gramick Jazz and tried to imitate on his three stringed home made guitar.  His grandmother pitied him and bought him an Ukulele, a four string guitar like instrument. He loved his guitar and even went with it to school. One of his teachers even sometimes asked him to perform for his class mates.

One day he met a guy who was playing for Kyalalo Band, a band that was owned by the local Catholic priests, the guy agreed to teach Vumbi how to play the guitar on terms that he would be buying him cigarettes, Vumbi agreed and so the guitar lessons started. Vumbi became so good that he was invited to be a member of Kyalalo Band. He joined as a rythm guitar player. Musicians in Kyalalo Band were forbidden to join bands that were performing in bars. And Kyalalo Band itself rehearsed and performed in a big hall owned by the church.  

One day Vumbi decided to move over to a band called Bavy National Orchestra, a band that performed in bars, he joined the band as a rhythm guitarist.

Bavy National  Orchestre, from right in the back row Dekula (Rythm guitar),Packot(Solo guitar and band leader Kiongozi),Maboko(Bass guitar),
Merry-Djo (Drums).
From right in the front row, vocalists Djo-Mali, Issa Nundu  and Simplice Mofeza.
Picture taken in 1983  in "Sikia Sosi Bar"  Uvira, Kivu Province,Democratic Republic of Congo

In  Bavy National, Vumbi met the vocalist Issa Nundu who also later joined Maquis Original, at the time Nundu worked as a medical assistant during the day and a musician at night, there was also another musician who became a hit in Tanzania, Kyanga Songa who was a daytime Agricultural Officer and a musician in the evening.

At the time a some East African bands were quite famous in Eastern Congo, as the area has many Kiswahili speakers. Bands like Tabora Jazz, Les Mangelepa, Simba wa Nyika, Mlimani Park Orchestra were quite famous. It was Vumbi's dream and also of some of his friends that one day they would cross over to East Africa and join one of these big bands. His band mates Kyanga Songa and Issa Nundu left Bavi National and crossed over to Tanzania. It was a big blow to the band because the two were great singers, but this increased the urge for Vumbi to cross to Tanzania. One day a guy called Alida Shanga approached Vumbi and told him that he had been sent from Tanzania by  John Luanda who owned Chamwino Jazz band to look for musician. Immediately Vumbi and a couple of his friends agreed and left Congo to go to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The very day that they arrived in Dar es Salaam they started rehearsals with Chamwino Jazz band.
They were young and energetic and the band soon became the talk of town through their acrobatic dancing. the vocalists and dancers were  Sisko Lunanga, Fanfan Bwami, and another friend of theirs Baposta Kilosho, who decided not very soon after to go back to Congo.
One day the youngsters went to see the big Orchestra Maquis Original perform and asked if they could perform their songs, they were allowed, the audience loved them and gave them a lot of money, they were so excited, with Chamwino Jazz band there was hardly any money, there were days they had to walk home for miles after the show because they did not make money enough for transport home. They decided to quit Chamwino Jazz band and be free lancers playing as a curtain raiser for Maquis Original. When John Luanda the owner of Chamwino Jazz Band found out, he was not amused and informed the immigration department who one day arrested the musicians on stage. Vumbi and his comrades were taken to the central police station and the next day they were transferred to Keko Remand home. While there they decided to write a letter to John Luanda promising him that they will return to his band, and sure enough they were released and continued working for Chamwino Jazz Band. But not long after Mzee makassy another veteran musician approached them with an offer to join his band, two of the vocalists went and joined the Orchestra Makassy, Vumbi continued on with Chamwino Jazz Band. Not long after that he wrote a letter to Maquis Original applying for the job of a guitarist, he then officially joined Orchestra Maquis Original. There he met other famous musicians like Maneno Uvuruge, Omari Makuka, Keppy kiombile, Ilunga Lubaba, William Maselenge and a number of other great musicians. He was employed as a second solo guitarist.
One day the lead guitarist  Nguza Viking didn't turn up, and Vumbi.

Maquis wakiwa Jamhuri Stadium Dodoma,  wa pili toka kulia na shati jeusi Vumbi, wapili toka kushoto na suruali nyeusi Issa Nundu

played all his songs, the next day the band gave him  a new contract as the new lead guitarist. Nguza Viking left the band soon after that. The band went on a three months country tour, by the time the tour was over the band's popularity had waned.
The band then recorded an album with the song Makumbele, also in the same album were other songs Tipwatipwa and Ngalula, they all became big hits, Maquis Original whose popularity was lagging,became again one of the top bands in  the country.
Vumbi continued to perform in Maquis Original until his decision to move to Sweden where he resides playing music to date.