PHOTO:

Erick Kioko aka DJ Talanta entertaining fans at Petro City club in Umoja, Nairobi Kenya. His left arm was chopped off during the 2007/08 post-election violence.

By:

James Mwangi

Posted:

Jun,20-2016 15:01:23

How was it like growing up

I grew up in Mathare 3C in Nairobi Kenya.I am the third-born in a family of five, but I lost my two elder brothers. I dropped out of school in class three, since my parents couldn't afford my school fees. To survive, I collected charcoal and sold it in paper bags. Life was tough, but I had to make ends meet. It was a do-or-die situation.

How did you end up being a DJ?

From a tender age, I loved music. I admired how DJs mixed music and always danced to their beats. It was a fascination. I would spend most of my nights in reggae sessions in town. In 2002,an entertainment group in Mathare hired me as a deejay.We travelled across the country playing reggae music in clubs and other events.

At some point, you were a criminal. What exactly happened?

During the reggae sessions in the 1990s, I turned to crime. I remember praying before going out to rob people. Most of my friends were shot dead and I was lucky I escaped. The most memorable incident was in 2000. A pal of mine with whom we had started a movie library and barber shop was arrested by police and has not been seen to date. I don't know what happened to him.

How did you lose your left hand?

My life took a turnaround after the hotly contested 2007 presidential elections. I was entertaining revellers at a club in Kisumu when a group of rowdy youths stormed in and attempted to kill me claiming we had stolen their victory. I was rescued by the club owner, and for four days, I locked myself in the house until a neighbour helped me catch a bus to Nairobi. I arrived at Mathare on January 12, 2008, only to find my relatives had been displaced and were residing at a camp outside the airforce base in Mathare.

What transpired later?

On January 17, after the tension had eased, we decided to go and pick our household items. We encountered a group of over 15 armed men who had cornered a woman and were raping her in turns. I stoned them to get them off the woman, but unknown to me, others had laid ambush behind us. One of them aimed a sharp panga at my neck, and when he made to slash me, I blocked it with my arm, which was sliced by the sharp panga and fell on the ground. I dashed towards the camp and was rushed to Kenyatta National Hospital by the military personnel.

Then what happened?

I was hospitalised for like a month. The hospital was overburdened. My hand was amputated. When my mum and younger sisters went to pick the chopped arm, they broke down. My friend took it as my mother removed the wrist watch. I was told the government took it for burial, but I doubt that. Why didn't they involve us in that burial? I suspect it is somewhere in a learning institution.

How was the healing process?

My family was there for me. The support I got was immense. It was tough and some days, I just wanted to be alone.My current wife (Anne Mwihaki) was very supportive after my ex--wife took off. A friend catered for my medication and paid for my surgery at no cost. I recovered fully, but was jobless and nobody wanted to hire me.They said they could not trust a one--handed deejay.

Source:

Standard Digital