23/09/2025
💔💔💔
This is how I choose to remember Mwenda Vanets .
Form One, Kangaru School. Bryan had just been nominated as our class prefect. Bryan Mwenda Njue. Then of course, we had to remix the name shortened or lengthened (depending on how you look at it) and Ndamwez was born.
A chill dude. Calm demeanor. Silent. You’d think he was plotting the world’s biggest heist behind that silence. Then he spoke and suddenly the silence was gone. Turns out, he wasn’t quiet. He was just another kid on the block with big ideas, wild thoughts, and ambition that couldn’t fit in one classroom. If you interacted with him, you know exactly what I mean.
One of those “big ideas” got him demoted from his kingdom, Nelion Class prefect. Picture this: Form One, we’re sent to Embu Town for reading books. Now, being the Embu crew (born and bred), we knew the streets well. Somewhere between the bookshop and the matatu stage, our “enterprise minds” kicked in. Forget textbooks, we invested in about 50 samosas. We had a ready market back at school and could flip them for double the price. A multimillion-shilling empire in the making!
By 6 pm we were back at school, pockets a little heavier, business booming. But just as we were about to “close shop,” word reached the high office that some entrepreneurs had made a killing and were apparently ready to sponsor the whole school with a feast. 😅🥲 The principal summoned us. Guess who took the fall? Ndamwez. As a prefect, he got off relatively light, but that was the day our alliance was born: Alfie, Hashim, Teddy, and our fearless frontman, Bryan.
From then on, we were a force. Where there was mischief, there was us. Where there was need, we were the guys.
And it wasn’t just fun, Ndamwez was sharp in class too. While I wrestled with some concepts, Bryan would catch them instantly. He was our brain, our leader academically, and the guy who kept us covered. Teddy and I? We were proudly leading from behind.
By Form Two, we joined Drama. I had talent, yes, but my “crooked side” kept escorting me out of school for indiscipline. Bryan, on the other hand, had mastered discipline or maybe just played his cards better. (Let’s just say, when he misbehaved, we made sure the teachers never found out. He’d done the same for us back in Form One, after all.)
I plead the fifth, I won't be getting into details of how our reign was, but jua tulisumbua(We really disturbed). If you needed anything, we were the guys to go to!
I remember the evening we walked in to the main hall for auditions, Bryan, right there fresh and ready to learn. On the other hand, I had a straight ticket from my performance at the Inter House Drama Competition and I won with a landslide. For Bryan, he was really determined, I remember him telling me how badly he wants this and this was a calling for him! That night, Ndamwez got in and got a role. That would be the highlight of his life and career thereafter. For the consecutive years, Bryan went ahead to win awards as an actor and a great thespian!
We were really tight until I left Kangaru in Form 3. After we finished form 4, Bryan invited me to Mount Kenya Theatrixx where we picked up from where we picked up from the previous years.Under the mentorship of Elijah Otieno , Bryan had matured into a fine actor, even becoming his right-hand man.
By this time, He had really honed his skills and was really good at his craft. But acting wasn’t his only gift. Somewhere along the way, Selector Vanets was born. 🎶 His deejay mixes weren’t just music; they told stories. They had vibes, emotions, and you could hear the hours he poured into them. There’s one mix, from eight years ago, that still blasts in our car like it dropped yesterday. Some things just don’t expire. Credits to Selector Blacks Lawrence Bryan spoke highly of you as a mentor and teacher in the field.
While in pursuit of greatness, here we form another alliance! Leon Samora , Alibaba Ken , Pamela Kinyua , Collins Njagi , Lynn Wamuyu , Doll Nattie and a few others who I may have skipped. I remember interacting with a few other people in association with Bryan; Prince Atom. Within the team, there were other alliances. One of those alliances a company was born, The Art Company. Here we had a couple of other wins and we really cemented our services in Artist Management and Event Planning.
And then came Mofilamu. This photo (either I or Mugendi Njiru took it) is from that era, 2018. Bryan used it as his profile picture for years. We shot one movie… then reshot it… then reshot it again. Three times! Each attempt came with new challenges until our sponsor, Mugendi, finally tapped out. But even in those struggles, bonds were built, stories were made, and dreams were cemented. I somehow can't find the tags for our team, Mokeira, Sonnie, Chebby, Wangechi, Collo Njagi, Makena and a few others who we really made memories with.
Mtaa ni Juja. That was Brayo’s hood. He hosted me at his crib a couple of times whenever I traveled to Nairobi. Even after moving to the city, we stayed close. In my hustler days as a hawker in Juja, selling shoes with my partner , Bryan would often swing by. Sometimes just to keep us company, sometimes to support the grind, and yes, he bought a few pairs too. That was Brayo, always showing up in small but meaningful ways. BRAYO ALWAYS SHOWED UP!
He was studying at JKUAT, pursuing a BCom degree. Juja was his base, if you needed to find Brayo, that was the first stop. Between 2018 and 2020, life was moving fast. Adulting had us by the throat. We only met occasionally, but we stayed connected. My own life was a storm, career trying to take shape, heartbreak knocking me off balance, almost homeless at one point, depression lurking in the shadows. Through those heavy days, Brayo was present. He didn’t always have solutions, but he had time, laughter, and presence. And that counts for more than people realize.!
We met again during covid, yet again another Alliance was formed PAM.era. My long time friend Pamela Kinyua called us and shared her dream of pushing an online show and she thought of us to bring forth the idea and give life to it. We had a couple of meetings and consultations, and the event came to life! Frank Clarke , Dapilosity X , Pamela had a roll with this one! Brayo, did not feature much but he was really instrumental when we started.
When he decided to pursue art as a career, I wasn’t surprised. One evening he called me asking about Mount Kenya University and their film course. Since I had studied there, he wanted my take. He eventually joined, and I remember how passionately he’d share his experiences, how much he loved this new path. While at MKU, he even passed by my office at Mombasa Road seeking mentorship, wanting to know how his creative skills could plug into one of my media ventures. Eventually, he paused school to look for funds, but the fire for art never left him.
Bryan’s passion for politics was something to truly admire. Whenever the subject came up, his whole face would light up, eyes sharp, voice animated, and that unmistakable fire in his tone. He didn’t just follow politics casually; he engaged with it, understood the dynamics, and had strong convictions about the people and camps he supported. What stood out most, though, was his loyalty. Once Bryan believed in someone or something, he stood by it unwaveringly, through debates, disagreements, and shifting tides. That same loyalty he carried in politics, he also carried in life; with his friends, his dreams, and his craft.
My most recent memory of Bryan was at Runyenjes. I was driving from Nairobi to Meru when fatigue hit, so I stopped. We caught up at length, like the good old days. Brayo had stories for days, you never got bored around him. Another memory that still makes me smile: he once had this crush on a girl at his workplace. He wasn’t sure what exactly he felt, or how to even approach it. For a guy who could face an audience of hundreds, it was funny to see him tripped up by one person. That was Brayo; brave in many things, but still human in the simplest ways.
Just three weeks ago, we had touched base. I had promised to sponsor a recording of one of his deejaying sessions for YouTube. He was supposed to get back to me with budgets and timelines. Now that chance is gone, and I can’t shake the feeling of being indebted forever.
That was Bryan. That was Ndamwez. A brother, a dreamer, a schemer, an artist, a DJ, a leader, and above all, a friend.
I'm still not able to bid farewell. I'm still in denial!
