He dances with fervor and his songs are full of profound Biblical insights.
The family man and longtime performer has been doing so for many years and at other churches. In exchange, he has shaped the careers of numerous singing ensembles.
Alfred Osonga is a well-respected gospel music composer, vocalist, and choirmaster in East and Central Africa. His compositions are heard in nearly all Kenyan Catholic Churches.
He says, “It has not been easy to do all this work at the same time, but it is through God’s favor and hard work, dedication, and the love of music that has made me reach this far.”
Osonga directs the music program of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in the Diocese of Migori. He has been a teacher and a member of many church choirs for the past 34 years.
Ningekuwa Na Mabawa and Mimi Ndimi Njia Ya Ukweli na Uzima are two of the most well-known songs he recorded with the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church Choir in June 1994, while the present Nairobi Catholic Archbishop Phillip Anyolo was the Presiding Bishop of Migori Diocese.
Osonga then went on to record volumes two, three, and four of music with the same choir, an achievement that led to his advancement to work beyond his home diocese of Migori. After moving to Kisii in 1995, he joined the St. Charles Lwanga Kisii Cathedral Catholic Choir, where he recorded several hits under the moniker “Bwana Ndiye Mchungaji Wangu.”
Hodi Hodi Volume R, Mimi Mabawa Volume 13, and Mimi Ndimi Njia Volume One were three of his most well-known albums.
“These three volumes are the ones that catapulted my work to fame in the gospel music industry,” Osonga explains.
Mosoriot Teachers Training College, the Assumption Sisters of Eldoret, the Patriciah Sisters, and the Recruitment Training School (RTS) choirs all flourished under his direction in Eldoret.
“If you listen to sweet Catholic melodies in Kenya, it must have come from Migori, and out of it we have trained many young people to play keyboards, read and write music, and compose new songs,” he says.
The singer claims that it was in a Sunday school in Musoma, Tanzania, in 1988 that he first became interested in music.
With that knowledge in hand, in 1991 I uprooted my life and headed to Tarime (Tanzania), where I spent the next three years using music to promote the Gospel. Before joining Migori Church, “I met different people here who inspired me more towards the same mission,” he says.
After working with 16 different choirs, the music educator finally found a home with the St. Joseph’s Church Choir.
