• Nyamai sings as a way of praising God, appreciating life and the environment. She blends gospel and secular music.
• She started singing at age 10, when she was a pupil at Kyatume Primary School.
Image: Courtesy
While many may be surprised that Kitui South MP Rachel Nyamai is a musician, it might even be shocking that she didn't start singing yesterday.
Nyamai sings to praise God, appreciate life and the environment. She blends gospel and secular music.
She started singing at age 10, when she was a pupil at Kyatume Primary School. At the time, she would sing along to songs played on the then VoK radio.
“I was privileged for being a daughter of an assistant chief. I got the chance to sing to the chief, the local district officers, the DC and President Daniel Moi whenever he visited the area. I honed my passion in high school by singing patriotic songs during ceremonies,” she told the Star.
She said there was nothing peculiar with her singing because it was an art she has been passionate about since her school days.
She said she always has time to attended to her schedules as MP, wife, mother and the chairperson of the parliamentary committee on Land because composing and singing are her hobbies
“Singing is not my full time job. It is just a way of praising God and appreciating life and the environment God has given us. It also gives me a chance to appreciate my country and the changes that have taken place, especially in my constituency,” the MP said in an interview on Saturday.
As MP, she did her first song 'Wewe ni Mungu' in a collaboration with renowned Kamba gospel artiste Myello. She has since gone solo.
The legislator has since composed and recorded other songs such as 'Pigeni Vigelegele', 'The Fish in the Sea', 'Enjoy Barabara' (in recognition of the tarmacking of the over 140km Kibwezi-Kitui-Mwingi road) and 'Sasa Nalala' (after the government restored peace in the previously bandit-prone areas of her constituency), among others.
“I will sing in praise of the president, for the country and for my constituents. The motivation is that I want to document how the situation and life was like when I became MP and how things have changed for the better,” Nyamai said.
“I am keen to use lyrics to appreciate the president for facilitating the long -waited tarmacking of the Kibwezi-Kitui-Mwingi road and for transforming Kenya through improved road connectivity. I, too, want to appreciate him through songs for bringing peace in Mutha ward.”
Nyamai says she is not in music for commercial reasons as she distributes her songs free through social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp.
She has also set up her own recording studio.