Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has announced plans to rename a road in honour of the late Kenyan hip-hop artist Issa Mmari, better known as E-sir.
During his Mashujaa Day speech on Thursday, December 12 at Uhuru Gardens, Sakaja addressed a number of issues, including the impact of the creative economy on the country.
While applauding the artists who performed at the Mashujaa Day celebrations, Sakaja announced plans to grow the creative sector further, with a special focus on musical artists.
“We are committed to nurturing this sector by providing platforms for talent development and market access,” Sakaja said. “We have seen this sector grow over the past couple of years and Nairobi is now able to attract major artists both locally and internationally.”
A view of South C estate in Nairobi. PHOTO/ Courtesy
The governor then revealed that as a way to honour artists who have had huge impacts on the country, some of the roads will be named after them.
“I’ve spoken to Mheshimiwa Jalas and our county assembly has dealt with it. For example one of the roads in South C will be renamed after the great hero E-sir, whose brother has performed here today.”
E-sir is considered to be one of the best hip-hop artists in Kenya, with his music cutting across different generations, 21 years after he passed away in an accident on March 16, 2003. Another artist, David Mathenge, better known as Nameless, survived the same accident with a broken collarbone.
Decades after his passing, E-Sir remains an inspiration to many upcoming artists, who often reference him in their songs and lyrics.
Popularly known as ‘South C’s finest’ E-sir often referenced South C estate in his songs, mainly because that is where he grew up and honed his skills as a rapper.
Sakaja’s plans to honour musicians by renaming roads after them comes just months after the Senate proposed a bill restricting the renaming of roads in honour of living persons.
The Street Naming and Property Addressing System Bill, 2024 aims at creating a County Addressing System Committee in each county, responsible for naming existing and new streets and ensuring proper signage is installed.
Under the proposed regulations, the CS in charge of ICT would have the final say on the naming of roads and buildings.
In a bid to curb issues with street naming and house numbering, which has become problematic in the country due to poor planning, the bill proposed a National Addressing Council whose functions would include creating and managing a national addressing system that is logical and unambiguous.
Veteran rapper Issah Mmari (E-sir) (pictured) died on March 16, 2003.
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