Bantu Moses
Moses Manasseh Otieno Oduor (born 08 July 1986), professionally and popularly known by his fans, congregants and followers as Bantu Moses, Bantu Musa, (or simply Bantu), is an ordained Anglican Clergy, Songwriter, Recording Artist, YouTuber, Seasonal TV Panelist, Author and Philanthropist, Community Mobilizer, Missionary, Evangelist, Youth Worker and Social Activist. He is the founder, CEO and Chair of The Husika-Afrika Foundation(formerly known as The Urban Hope Project), a non- profit Kenyan based organization, whose mission is to inspire transformation by empowering needy and vulnerable communities across Kenya. He is also the Founder and Chair of Sortedlife Ministries International; Bantu Musa Ministries and Sorted Group.
Other aspects of Bantu's work and ministry include The bi-annual Total Impact Concert; Momentum Students Camp; Fichua Somo Initiative; Use-Next Initiative, among other community and social events. He was a resident panelist on Johari Show, aired by Covenant Television Network (CTN), until it was put on hold in early 2019.
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Early Life and Education[edit][edit]
Rev. Bantu Moses - at Johari Show on CTN TV in 2018. Bantu was born in Siaya District, now Siaya County, in Nyanza Province, Western part of Kenya, and grew up in different part of the country, namely in the slums of Sosiani in Eldoret, Gomongo, Kariobangi and Kibera slums in Nairobi. His parents were unschooled and had no permanent jobs, hence the many movements before he was an adult. His mum sold fish when he conceived him, and a few months after delivering him in Siaya, she moved to Eldoret, Sosiani slums, where she sold fish with him at the back. His father at the moment was also a casual worker working at Asian businesses. Before long, they moved to Nairobi, where they lived in Gomongo and Kariobangi slums before moving to Kibera, Kambi Muru. As her mum continued to sell fish and chicken wings, a young Bantu, about 6 years old, and still not attended any school, would take care of his siblings and run their small shop from their mud walled house.
In 1994, his dad lost his job, and Bantu and his siblings had to move back to Siaya, to live with her older sister. The same, Bantu being 7 years, old enough to be in standard two, could not join standard one because his hands could not go over his head to touch his ear; which was a qualification to join standard one then. So for one year, he spent time at home, taking care of the home while his eldest sisters went to school, about 3km away. In 1995, he was then again taken back to join standard one at Madungu Primary School, a rural mixed day school with mud floors and empty windows.
Bantu went ahead to become to one of the most popular students in the school due to his brilliance and outspokenness on various issues, right from a very young age. He held leadership positions right from standard one, as a monitor, to prefect and deputy school captain. Apart from being a class and school leader, Bantu also performed very well thought out his primary school, only loosing top three position once, in the first term of his standard one. He also performed well in co-curriculum activities, playing football-front left, handball, and track sports.
In standard seven, Bantu, now staying alone at home, his elder sisters now in Nairobi and in school, dropped out of school for about two months and went to do manual work for villages to get some money to fund his rather careless lifestyle that he had adopted. His dad later on took him back to school and ordered the class teacher to can him thoroughly in front of him, and later on in the assembly, to act as an example to others who would have attempted to do the same. The teacher told him that he would fail exams terrible. Being a fighter, Bantu did not take this lightly and swore to prove the teacher wrong. About a year and a half later, Bantu graduated from primary school with a flying colors; not only topping his class and proving the class teacher who had lost hope in him, but also topping the whole division. He was called to the prestigious St. Mary's School Yala.Due to lack of funds and resources he gave up his slot in the dream school and joined his dad in Nairobi, where after several searches for an affordable day school, he managed to secure places in about three provincial school in Nairobi, namely; Nairobi Milimani Secondary School, Upper Hill School and Jamhuri High School.
His dad wanted him to join Upper Hill School, a boys school, which was just a few minutes away from their house in the uptown Upper Hill Estate, so that they could save on fare and maximize on time. He however refused to join school fearing his dad's micro management and monitoring tactics, that he knew would bar him from exploring his new home, Nairobi. He also refused Nairobi Milimani Secondary School, which was the second closest to his home, about 15 to 20 minutes away, because during his interview, he saw the students eat under the tree because they did not have a large dinning hall to accommodate all the students. Also, the deputy principal told him that he would the best student they would have admitted that year; something that he did not want. There was no way I was going to be the best student in a Nairobi school, with 373 marks from rural primary school; Who was I going to challenge? Bantu said in one interview with Sorted Entertainment.He ended at Jamhuri High School. In Jamhuri high school Bantu gained a lot of popularity among fellow students, teachers and support staff alike. This was due to his positive attitude and ever jovial mood. His was also one of the two known school Hip Hip rappers, and later the only one; and his art went on to inspire other students to start rapping every games time, and some students even becoming professional musicians.
He graduated from Jamhuri High School in 2006. He did not perform well to secure a place in a public government sponsored university or college. Unfortunately, his parents could also not take him to the university under a self sponsored program due to lack of funds and resources again. So he stayed out until 2011, when he got a scholarship to join St. Paul's University in Kenya; where he graduated with a Bachelors degree in Divinity. He immediately enrolled in the same university to do a Masters Degree in Development Studies, but it's not known whether he finished or not.
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