Larry Liza: My mother inspired my talent

Larry Liza with former UN-Habitat executive director Anna Tibaijuka at the Rwanda genocide memorial recently. Liza says his mother encouraged him to write his first poem, ‘My Mummy’, when he was in Standard Four. PHOTO | COURTESY

What you need to know:

  • He composed his first poem at the age of 10 as a class four pupil.
  • His mother, who has since died, challenged him to write one.
  • He dutifully took a paper and wrote a one-page poem titled My Mummy.
  • At Kanga High School, he wrote a play for the school drama festivals titled Chrismus.

Growing up in Nyalenda slums, Kisumu, with only his mother to look up to, Larry Liza never imagined he could ever share a platform with some renowned world leaders.

But he has leveraged on his God-given talent, poetry, to mingle with among others, President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania, former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his wife Sarah, supermodel Naomi Campbell and Uganda’s First Lady Janet Museveni.

Like him, these are global Goodwill Ambassadors of the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood, which focuses on reducing infant deaths and improving maternal healthcare.

It is based in London but they also have an office in the US and a Kenyan chapter.

“With humility, everything is possible. The almighty God has enabled me to be confident enough to look straight at these people and tell them things as they are.

"Basically, we relate with them with humility and respect but I still remain assertive to be able to dutifully articulate my points,” says Liza, who lives with a Chronic Fatigue Syndrome as a result a road accident in which he broke his left hand and suffered a cracked back in 2006.

Now, a globally-acclaimed poet whose works have been heard in more than 48 countries, he recited his first poem at the age of four years during a public function at Siaya stadium.

An acknowledgement from the then District Commissioner emboldened him and gave him the motivation to not only recite, but to also write poems.

“My mother was very proud and from that day, I decided to often recite poems,” Mr Liza, a programme co-ordinator with the World Customs Organisation (WCO) in Nairobi said.

He composed his first poem at the age of 10 when as a class four pupil, his mother, who has since died, challenged him to write one.

He dutifully took a paper and wrote a one-page poem titled My Mummy.

“She read it and tears rolled from her eyes because I had described her beauty, love and charm.

"I had written it along Proverbs 31 in the Bible of a woman who wakes up early, does everything to support her family,” says the third born in a family of four.

At Kanga High School, he wrote a play for the school drama festivals titled Chrismus — coined from the words Christianity and Islam — as a call to Christians and Muslims to unite.

The play emerged number three in then Nyanza Province.

“I did that because our drama teacher had been transferred. At that time there was reported violence in South C where a church had been torched in the course of a conflict between Christians and Muslims.

The overriding theme was that in spite of our religious beliefs we are all one,” he recalls.

While at the University of Nairobi, he carried on with his poetry, this time having a wider range of audience.

He performed at church occasions, government and NGOs functions.

The stage became even bigger when Liza had an opportunity to perform in functions organised by university clubs.

“There were many chances to perform organised by I Choose Life - Africa, one of the NGOs involved in HIV prevention efforts among the youth and Family Health International.

"They would organise functions in universities and invite contemporary artistes to entertain the students. They always invited me as well to curtain-raise for the musicians.”

Liza was deployed to the WCO in 2011 by Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), which he joined in 2007 as a revenue officer after his undergraduate studies at the university.

He says joining KRA has been a watershed moment in his poetry because the management has supported him immensely, and given him a platform to perform for then President Mwai Kibaki during the KRA Taxpayer days.

As the WCO programme co-ordinator, the Bachelor of Science graduate, who is currently studying for his Masters in Environmental Planning and Management at the same university, works across 24 countries in East and Southern Africa.

He writes poems on his way to the functions. In addition, a number of his performances are either on Saturdays or Sundays hence do not clash with his job.

“On the other hand, many organisations that have parties or cocktails do them either early morning or in the evening. That works for me too.

Those that happen during the day take place within the CBD and on that my employer has been very supportive because I always get a few hours off,” he says.

As to his poetry, peace, love and unity have become his dominant themes, alongside safe motherhood and reducing infant mortality.

It is from these performances, and those from Mamlaka Hill Chapel and St Paul’s University Chapel, that other organisations like the United Nations office in Nairobi took note of him and begun inviting him to functions, among them the Rwanda genocide memorial.

As the fame docked in, the money also started trickling in.

“Once or twice a year I get invited by the UN.

Other organisations and banks also started inviting me to their functions. I was paid Sh1,000 for my first contractual performance.

But with time the fee rose to Sh3,000 per show and now I charge up to Sh50,000 for a three-minute performance,” he said.

“I perform at weddings a lot. For example right now I have bookings until March 2015, not necessarily every week though,” he added.

He has also performed for presidents and other dignitaries, among them, former Presidents Moi and Kibaki and then Internal Security Minister George Saitoti. With his rising fame, he started getting invitations to perform beyond the borders.   

Among his awards are the Young Male Achiever of the Year in 2006 organised by Women Student Welfare Association, The Journey Concert (2006) and the 2010 Community Transformers Social Justice award organised by Mamlaka Hill Chapel.

Still in 2010, he won the Building Peace for Bridges organised by the Media Focus on Africa, an occasion that he remembers for bringing him into contact with athlete and peace ambassador Tecla Lorupe.

Liza who is hoping to publish his first anthology of poems next year says that his best composition has been Beyond the Difference, which traces Kenya’s pre- and post-2007 election period.   

His other favourites are Toyota — about a child who is enthusiastic about education and acknowledges the Narc government efforts on Free Primary Education — and From My Window’ which is written from the perspective of a guard.