Mugithi is Kikuyu bar music, played live in roadside clubs where the crowd sings along and the lyrics say what politicians won't. John De Mathew was the king of it, performing for 30 years until his death in a car accident in 2019. His songs covered land, unemployment, betrayal, and the cost of development. The government never banned mugithi the way it banned other political music, possibly because it was performed in Kikuyu, possibly because it stayed in the bars. But everyone knew what was being said. The bar was where Kenya talked.