Who Is Kidum? The Story Behind The Successful Musician

Looking at handsome Kidum today and listening to his cool music, would you imagine that he was once a refugee living at Kakuma? Well, if you did not know that, now you do.

Kidum was born in Burundi and judging from the events of his life, that must have been around the year 1974. By the way, his real name is Jean Pierre Nimbona. This guy is a born musician! At the age of 10, he was already singing and attracting audiences that not only marvelled at his talent but also enjoyed the entertaining sound of his vocals. Now if you think that is inspirational, you need to hear this. At that tender age, he had found something to spice up his music; drums that he made from materials he collected around his home. When I read that from Kidum’s story, I recalled something my mum once told me: “You can make a success of yourself wherever you happen to be.” You do not need to have all the facilities to achieve your dreams. It only takes a passion and commitment.

Well, if you know Kidum, you know that there is so much about his life that is inspirational. But let’s go back to his birth for a while. He says that “I was born a pig baby.” Do you know what he means by that? Don’t worry if you don’t, I also had to search the meaning. It simply means that he was not the ordinary size baby; he was big! That is actually where the name Kidum came from. It is the name for a 20 litre gallon of water.

So how did he land at Kakuma refugee camp?

It looks like everyone who ever becomes someone of renowned status has to pass through a really tough time at a point in their life. For Kidum, that time came in 1994 when Burundi and Rwanda were rocked with a political unrest. His family was forced to flee and the next home the young star new was the refugee camp at Kakuma.

Rising to fame

The time at the camp must have been the most uncertain for Kidum. But thanks to his passion for music and the God-given talent, he stayed at the camp for only three days. His lifelong dream of becoming a musician called him to Nairobi and within a short time, he joined The Hot Rod Band. He worked with the band for eight good years, playing the drums and singing. He later left the group to form the famous now Boda Boda Band.

The driving force behind his music success

Ask for a guy who is completely passionate about what he does and I will quickly point you Kidum’s way. At one time, his parents could not understand why he was so mad about making a career out of music. They argued that people are going to school and ending up in big jobs n that’s what they wanted to see him doing. But Kidum knew what he wanted and nothing could change his mind. When he first formed his band, he also looked for passionate people to work with. He had no money to pay his Band’s mate and he knew that the only thing that could hold them together and to their musical dream was passion.