Why Gidi Gidi Maji Maji broke up

Sue Watiri

February 5, 2019 6:20 PM

Revealed.

Gidi Gidi Maji Maji (Courtesy)

Music group duo Gidi Gidi Maji Maji was one of the highlights of the 2000s.

The duo dropped bangers like ‘Ting Badi Malo’, ‘Many Faces’ and ‘Unbwogable’ which soon became a countrywide hit and the political anthem for Kenya’s opposition Rainbow Coalition in 2002 and saw them sweep into power.

3 years after ‘Unbwogable’ became a countrywide hit, the group broke up.

Gidi Gidi Maji Maji during their ‘hey’ days (Courtesy) Pulse Live Kenya

During a recent interview with Nation Newspaper, Gidi revealed the reason why the group broke up.

“Life happened to us. Maji Maji got married around that time and he had a lot on his hands. Life was also catching up with me so I had to adjust. I started music while I was still in high school, and at the height of our career, I deferred my university studies for a couple of years. So around that time I also went back to school and got a degree in IT,” he told the paper.

Move to Radio

His IT degree proved to be fruitful as he soon landed a job at the UN as a software developer. While working at the UN, radio came calling in the form of Carol Radull who scouted him to join a new sports FM station even when he didn’t have any radio experience.

His move to radio gave Gidi a second chance at glory as his show with Ghost on Radio Jambo has one of the highest ratings in Kenyan Radio.

Gidi and Ghost (Radio Jambo) Pulse Live Kenya

“She (Carol) saw the potential in me and invited me to join the then-new sports FM station. There was no way I was going to leave a UN job to join a new radio station, but they pursued me and eventually, I gave it a try. Ten years down the line, I don’t regret the move. I joined radio without any experience but I have learnt on the job, and today we are the number one morning show in Kenya,” said Gidi Gidi.

Sue Watiri