KENYA: Underground artists use graffiti to express their anger at leaders and the continued rise of impunity even after a bloody post election violence in 2007-2008

Record ID: 362223

  • Title: KENYA: Underground artists use graffiti to express their anger at leaders and the continued rise of impunity even after a bloody post election violence in 2007-2008
  • Date: 29th March 2012
  • Summary: NAIROBI, KENYA (MARCH 29, 2012) (REUTERS) PAWA254 OFFICE ACTIVIST BONIFACE MWANGI WORKING IN THE OFFICE PAWA254 LOGO (SOUNDBITE) (English) BONIFACE MWANGI SAYING, POLITICAL ACTIVIST SAYING: "We are trying to use visual arts to communicate about the culture of impunity in this country, the corruption and the bad leadership. So we are doing graffiti depicting the leader
  • Embargoed: 13th April 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Kenya, Kenya
  • Country: Kenya
  • Topics: Arts
  • Reuters ID: LVA6XT4OW2YHN1DYUESYGOKTOKUF
  • Story Text: A mural on the wall of a building takes shape under the spray paint of artists working under the cover of darkness in Nairobi's central business district.
    They shake their cans in much the same way they hope to shake up the leadership of the country, which has long been accused of putting self before country.
    The graffiti lists out the worst Kenyan political scandals and heinous crimes of the last half-century, ranging from assassinations to grand corruption.
    Rallying the night-time artists is Boniface Mwangi, a photographer turned activist who documented the violence that rocked Kenya following the disputed presidential election in December 2007.
    He is one of a collective of creatives that works for PAWA254, a collaborative space for artists to create work of social impact.
    "We are trying to use visual arts to communicate about the culture of impunity in this country, the corruption and the bad leadership. So we are doing graffiti depicting the leaders we have in parliament and in government for who they really are and we describe them as vultures because they have vulture characteristics. They feed on the weak, they feed on the dead and they take advantage of us," said Mwangi, an award-winning news photographer and father of three.
    To awaken Kenya's senses and illustrate the need for change, Mwangi turned to organise graffiti art, a form that is not widely practised in the country.
    The first mural was painted on a private wall at the end of last month.
    It attracted a crowd of onlookers the following day. The next project was more ambitious, inviting Kenyans on Twitter to describe their MP in one word, with the results painted on a public toilet along with provocative images.
    "How do we form an alternative place for people to see and to talk about these things. How do you create a newspaper or a blog in a public space and that is how the graffiti on the wall and the graffiti on the pavements that when you are going to shop or class you see this big murals that talks about the things you know deep in your heart but you are afraid of talking about them," said Mwangi.
    The graffiti was so popular, it caused traffic snarl-ups as motorists slowed down to loot at it. But it also caused anger. City council officials painted over it in plain blue before the end of the day.
    Mwangi said the murals are painted at night, simply because they are illegal, but it is not enough to sensitise the public through art. The hope is that the country can through the ballot, force a fundamental change of leadership.
    "All we want to see is a ballot revolution because if we do not have a ballot revolution next year, sooner or later we are going to have a social revolution and it is going to be very violent, it is going to be a class war. The majority, about 78 percent of the population in this country is under 35. So those are the majority and most of them are hungry, they are unemployed, they have no stake in this country and when they look into the future there is nothing promising. So if you do not address that, and come up with a solution; is a ticking time bomb, it is going to explode," he said.
    If he had the chance to address Kenya's parliamentarians, Mwangi would have a harsh message, saying he would tell them to go home and that their time was up because they were not the change the people wanted to see.
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