MPs to take break to shoot 'Jerusalema' dance challenge

Challenge has featured health workers, construction workers, police officers, fuel attendants, journalists

In Summary

•Leader of Majority Amos Kimunya said it was necessary for the legislators to be part of the movement calling for diversity in times of distress.

•Kimunya on Thursday said though rehearsals for the shoot have been going on, final rehearsals will happen on Monday and Tuesday before the final take on Wednesday.

National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi, Majority leader Amos Kimunya, and Minority leader John Mbadi consult during the third Leadership Retreat in Nairobi on August 25.
National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi, Majority leader Amos Kimunya, and Minority leader John Mbadi consult during the third Leadership Retreat in Nairobi on August 25.
Image: COURTESY

Members of Parliament are expected to take a short recess next week to take part in the shooting of the 'Jerusalema' dance challenge.

Leader of Majority Amos Kimunya said it was necessary for the legislators to be part of the movement calling for diversity in times of distress.

Kimunya on Thursday said though rehearsals for the shoot have been going on, final rehearsals will happen on Monday and Tuesday before the final take on Wednesday.

He said Speaker Justin Muturi and all heads of departmental committees will be leading other parliamentarians.

His sentiments were echoed by Mbita MP Millie Odhiambo who said this will be an opportunity for all parliamentarians to prove that there is peace in diversity.

"Mr Speaker we are grateful for the support your office has given to us in rehearsals of the challenge. It is a good opportunity for work out and show that in diversity we can find peace," she said.

Odhiambo said their counterparts in the Senate will be joining them.

"We have made a formal request to have the entire formation of Parliament and we hope that our request will go through," she said.

Jerusalema is a song by South African musician Master KG that sparked a craze  across the world.

The song has been  endorsed by presidents and priests becoming the sound of the current Covid-19 pandemic for millions across the globe.

Last week, the Jerusalema dance challenge was endorsed by President Cyril Ramaphosa ahead of the country’s plan to open up.

According to an article in the Guardian, the simple dance routine to the 2019 hit Jerusalema by Master KG and Nomcebo Zikode has provided an uplifting soundtrack for difficult times and has now been streamed more than 60m times on Spotify.

The upbeat song is a lamentation for God to take the singer to the heavenly city. The track topped the South African charts in December but in February, as lockdowns began to seem like a possibility, it was a group of friends in Angola who shot a video dancing to the song that sparked the global trend.

In the video, over lunch, a group of young men holding plates of food start to demonstrate the dance routine to their female counterparts who then join in.

It was followed by another video from Portugal, setting the tone for how international the #JerusalemaDanceChallenge would prove to be.

The dance in the country has already featured health workers, construction workers, police officers, waiters, fuel attendants, journalists and those in the corporate world.

Kiss 100 Kenya | Kenya’s No.1 Hit Music Station | Kenya's hip, urban FM station with a special influence on pop culture, pop music and a target audience of the urban youth. #JerusalemaChallenge #RadioAfricaGroup Kiss 100 Kenya social media handles Instagram - https://bit.ly/2pw68q5 Twitter - https://bit.ly/2n8FUcB Facebook - https://bit.ly/2na8cU7

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