- He uses photography to tell stories from the slums.
- His focus is on the positive side of life, though still exposes some vices.
- His inspiration is from daily happenings in Kibra slums, Kenya.
- Makaveli appeals for help to go study professional photography.
Since its inception, the world has used photography in different ways.
People use it as a hobby, to immortalize memories and others use it as an escape route to relieve stress.
With the ever-evolving technology and globalization, photography has been redefined.
There is a paradigm shift from the adage that photography is the art of taking pictures to the art of taking photos coupled with telling a story to entice the audience’s attention.
A good epitome of the modern-day definition of photography is the late Mohamed Amin, fondly known as “Mo”.
Shuddered by the infamous Ethiopian famine, Amin made a documentary that galvanized government leaders and musicians in Europe and the USA.
Kevin, a renowned photographer living in the sprawling Kibra slums, is replicating the new norm of photography, taking photos that tell a story, capture the audience’s attention and seek to inspire and transform society.
He is commonly known by his nickname, Makaveli, which he earned from his uncanny talent for taking photos within Kibra.
“I acquired that name as a result of my astuteness for taking pictures and my passion for photography,” Makaveli recalls.
The passion behind it all
His knack for telling stories through the lens was ignited by incidents occurring in Kibra, happenings in his daily life and other people’s lives, and the fact that one can pass a message through a photograph.
“My inspiration to undertake photography was driven by daily occurrences in Kibra, to tell stories that are happening in my daily life and other people’s lives.
I also realized that photos could convey messages just like musicians pass messages through their songs,” Makaveli recounts.
The journey
After his secondary education, the 24-year-old lensman had plans to kickstart his career as a photographer.
On the contrary, he joined photography much later than he had anticipated and endured a more harrowing experience in his quest to become a photographer.
“Earlier on, my ambition of becoming a photographer had temporarily halted because I did not have the financial muscle. Here in the ghetto, the majority of the residents have a desire, passion and will to start and indulge in projects that can benefit them and their peers but their socio-economic status hinders them to achieve what they yearn for,” Makaveli narrates.
The youthful photographer had to engage himself in the so-called “small labor jobs” within Kibra to raise funds to purchase a camera.
“I never desired to involve myself in those cadre of jobs but my socio-economic status forced me to indulge in small labor activities to save enough money to buy a camera. I had to walk from estate to estate with a handcart selling water. I also indulged in activities in the construction industry, where my main role was carrying bricks and scooping sand within the vicinity of the construction site,” Makaveli recounts.
He was thrilled with the amount of money he had saved during the period he did those jobs.
“Though I sacrificed a lot to the extent I denied myself basic needs, I am happy that the amount I made was more than enough to purchase a camera,” Makaveli enthuses.
According to Makaveli, every photo taken inspires Kibra residents. He mainly focuses on capturing photographs that depict the positive side of Kibra.
“Every photo that I take, I always do it with the intent of inspiring Kibra residents. I sometimes take photos that depict the wrongdoings happening within Kibra such as people abusing drugs, and illegal wire connections, but I majorly place priority on capturing photos that depict the good side of Kibra,” Makaveli narrates.
He says that many good things happen therein, such as youths engaging themselves in football tournaments to avert crime, religious leaders from different denominations holding meetings with residents to encourage them not to indulge in bad activities, and residents attending crusades and birthdays of their peers, especially the young ones.
Other than inspiring Kibra residents, Makaveli uses his photos to educate them.
“I sometimes shoot photographs and then edit them in a sequence format in a way that tells a story, like a documentary. There is a recent project I did dubbed “Kibra Crime”, focusing on enlightening the citizens against the ills of crime which should be avoided at all costs,” he explains.
For delicate stories, he seeks permission and consent from those photographed, but for stories that are perceived to be soft, such as children playing, he doesn’t seek permission.
He doesn’t sell his photos. Instead, after editing them, he uploads them on his Facebook page with his logo attached, with the aim of telling the story.
In the run-up to the general elections, he also did a documentary on peace and the need for communities to co-exist during elections despite belonging to different political affiliations.
Impediments
Makaveli’s photography career has also come with its fair share of challenges.
“One of the common challenges that I encounter when in the line of duty is that the majority of people have a perception that photographers are well off. Largely, this is attributed to the equipment that photographers carry along apart from the camera. That notion is a fallacy because not all photographers are affluent,” Makaveli discloses.
That misconception about photographers has made some of Makaveli’s sources demand money from him before taking their photos, thus hindering him from covering critical stories.
“When covering certain stories, some sources are always reluctant to accept being photographed unless given a handout. This has made me sometimes abandon good stories because of a lack of money to give them.
It saddens me to see some sources behaving peculiarly because it places the photographer in a dilemma and may compromise one’s professional principles,” Makaveli reveals.
His goals
Beyond his career, Makaveli has goals in mind, one of them being to bring change in society and make it better than he found it.
“I want to make my society better than I found it; improve the lives of Kibra residents together with those occupants residing in other informal settlements,” he narrates.
In his quest to improve his society, he has partnered with notable public figures like the former Churchill Show comedian Eric Omondi who has recently been vocal on issues affecting the country.
“Bringing change in society requires the effort of more than one individual and that is why I decided to engage like-minded people like Eric Omondi to navigate this path of change together,” Makaveli says.
Besides change, mentoring the upcoming generation is also one of his goals.
“I would like to see the upcoming generation use the lens to change people’s lives and also use it to create employment opportunities. That is why I am planning to start imparting my photography skills to them,” Makaveli explains.
Furthering his education
Other than uplifting and nurturing the upcoming generation, he yearns to upgrade his education level to become a professional photographer.
“I would like to go to college and pursue a course in Film and Photography to complement my skills and become a competent photographer. There are many things that I don’t know about photography. Getting enrolled in a college will give me a new perspective on photography and be a great milestone in my life,” Makaveli highlights.
He further adds that he would be delighted if anybody would step in and pay his college fees so that he can pursue his dream of becoming a professional photographer.
“I really want to join college, but I don’t have enough money to fund my education. I am appealing to anybody to lend a helping hand so that I realize my dream of becoming a competent photographer,” Makaveli pleads.
Settling elsewhere
He dreams of getting out of the informal settlement and living in a better place.
“I would like to get out of the slums and start a new life in a decent house. I have stayed here for long; my neighborhood is also vulnerable to fire outbreaks, and thus putting my life at risk. My camera equipment might also get destroyed or stolen,” Makaveli states.
Makaveli also attributed motivating his peers as one of the reasons he wishes to leave the informal settlement.
“My moving into a good neighborhood will act as a motivating factor among my peers and encourage them that everything is possible only if they play their part,” Makaveli illustrates.
To blooming photographers
Makaveli’s parting shot to upcoming photographers and those already in a photography career is to use photography to make ends meet and to inspire and change people’s lives.
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“One should not only pursue photography as a career but also keep in mind to tell stories that make a greater impact in society,” he advises.
For him, not even the sky can be the limit.
