Rest in peace Laban Juma Toto

Laban Juma Toto, the composer of the most famous song ever sung about Gor Mahia, has passed on. The song which was released in the early 1970s, praised the club which was relatively new for bringing many trophies to Kenya and celebrated the famous players of the time including Nicodemus Arudhi, Ouma “Chege”, Ben Obala, Otieno “Hatari”, Fred Siranga, James Sianga, Steve Yongo, Allan Thigo and others.

FC Gor Mahia by Juma Toto (Video)

According to the Standard, Juma underwent a head surgery at Kenyatta National Hospital after falling and hitting his head on the pavement near his home in Jerusalem Estate, Nairobi, last week.His family said said the veteran musician did not make it out of Kenyatta National Hospital’s ICU after the surgery. He died on Tuesday night.

According to close family members, the musician was walking home after an evening out with friends when the accident happened.Fellow artistes described Juma’s death as a big blow to the Kenyan music scene, saying he not only came from an experienced pre-independence generation of musicians, but was also still active in the art.Before his death, Juma had a solo piano performance at the Panari Hotel.He was also the chairman of the Kenya Music Association and is credited with the formation of the Music Copyright Society of Kenya to fight for the rights of musicians and artistes in the country.