'Disco Matanga' denying residents of Nairobi sleep

According to the residents – anytime someone dies in the estates – youth organise night dances which are conveniently referred to as ‘fundraising in aid of the dead’.

“I have not slept one bit this past week after one of our neighbours died.

"Young men who don’t go to work spend the whole night dancing, smoking bhang and harassing people passing on the road to contribute money to help transport the body of the deceased to the village,” said Andrea Kamau.

“They play loud music from 6pm to 5am. Some of us have small children, but also we need to sleep so we can wake up early to go to work. I don’t object to fundraisers to bury our dead, but why play loud music outside my door for two weeks,” wondered Kamau.

Residents say disco Matanga are common especially in informal settlement in Nairobi.

“I am worried about our school girls and boy who are currently at home for the holidays. These disco Matanga provide a good ground for the youth to engage in illicit behaviour,” said Mama Virginia Wekesa.

Disco matanga has often been blamed for all manner of ills in the society. In 2022, then Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i banned disco matangas in Trans Nzoia county saying it was to blame for teen pregnancies. The ban was eventually lifted a few months later.

Residents of Nairobi want bereaved families to hold night vigils or fundraisers quietly without blasting music which affects tenants.