We praise when it suits us: An analysis of the Kenya Moja song sung by Luo artists on Kenya’s the 58th Independence Day celebrations

As an adhesive that binds a society, music is pervasive in communicating issues affecting the society in one way or another. It permeates the political, social, economic and religious realms of communities. This study focuses on the political realm in Kenya where music has been used to address issues affecting the society. In some instances, it is used to point out the ills advanced by top political leaders, an issue that has oftentimes landed musicians in trouble. In addition, through music, the significance of politics in any society is brought to perspective. This paper has three objectives namely: to discuss the qualities of a good leader as highlighted in the Kenya Moja song; to identify and describe the image schemas in the Kenya Moja song and to explore the thematic concerns in the Kenya Moja song. This study uses the Image Schema Theory to analyze one of the objectives. To achieve these objectives, the research used a descriptive design and data was analyzed qualitatively