Big Five: Preaching peace through music

His eyes have an indescribable sadness that tugs at your heart. Meet Mohammed Abdi Haji, a young Somali artist whose life has been punctuated by untold suffering due to ethnic conflicts.

He comes from a region plagued by insecurity. The communities in this area are heavily suspicious of each other. This region is in and around Isiolo, home to the Turkana, Borana, Samburu, and Meru.

The artist, stage name Heavy D, says the conflicts are usually over grazing lands, water resources (Ewaso Nyiro River), livestock, and supremacy wars that have caused havoc in the eastern and north-eastern parts of the country for decades.

“The elusive peace has cost the region heavily in terms of development, denying many a chance at education, access to health, good infrastructure, and other development opportunities,” says Heavy D.

In an incident that shocked the region and the country, nine young men of Somali origin lost their lives in what came to be known as the Burat massacre. The incident happened in Mohammed’s Mlango village in Isiolo.

The tragic event, he says, revolved around livestock rustling. One of the nine victims was his brother.

“At the burial of my brother, the sadness I felt consumed me, and I knew that I had to do something that would contribute to bringing peace among these communities to avoid such destruction of innocent lives,” he says.

Luckily, he found many organizations, individuals, and government initiatives actively seeking solutions to this state of affairs, working through initiatives promoting peace dialogues among the fighting communities.

Among these organizations were Isiolo Peace Link, IMPACT Kenya, Children Peace Initiative, Northern Rangelands Trust, Caritas Isiolo, Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund, Ewaso Ng’iro North Development Authority, and Rise Network.

He decided to join the movement preaching peace through art and music. He aimed to bring together young people from the fighting communities to form a performing group.

Within five months, the search yielded results. He recruited four young people who shared his vision for a peaceful north-eastern frontier. These were, in addition to himself, Joseph Lenamoira (Lucky Boy), Colyvin Laichena (Kaka Mlezi), Julius Kaaman (Red X Imosh), and Muhamud Hassana (Zeze Nature).

They called the group 'Big Five'.

They would disseminate their message through art, especially music and clips, which they would share through their compositions (songs), performances, and public barazas.

“Our first composition was a song titled ‘Why are we fighting/killing each other in front of God, yet we are all the same?’” says Mohammed, now an accomplished artist.

He says the lyrics are in five languages, with each artist singing in their mother tongue. This, he says, was so that each of the communities from the deepest corner of the region would hear and hopefully take the lyrics seriously against the background of entertaining beats and captivating sounds.

But the journey, says Mohamed, has not been easy, with some members leaving to pursue other interests.

Speaking during a recent event—the Peace Ultra Marathon organized by the Regional Pastoralist Peace Link—Mohamed is confident there will be peace in the region.

Mohammed and Joseph Lenamoira (Lucky Boy) have become seasoned artists.

“I have just completed composing a song on wildlife—The Big Five (not the group)—and it will be released soon,” says Mohamed.

He says his dream is also to involve female artists from the region.

For now, when there is a call for a peace initiative, Mohammed rallies the Big Five artists to perform. “The sky is not the limit for this worthwhile dream of capturing the elusive peace for the region's prosperity,” he says.