Mombasa Roots Mombasa Roots Mombasa Roots (or Mombasa Roots Band) are a Kenyan afropop/hotel pop musical group. They have recorded some of the most successful hit singles in Kenyan pop music, such as "Disco Chakacha" and "Kata". Their most famous album is "Lele Mama". The band was founded in 1977 by the "Juma Brothers" from Mombasa, i.e., Suleiman Juma (keyboards, vocals), Saeed Juma (band manager) and Ebrahim Juma (guitar). They were later joined by Mahmood Siraj (guitar and vocals), Hassan Malambo (trumpet and vocals), Tamrat Kabede (drums), and a fourth Juma brother, Ahmed (guitar, saxophone, vocals). The band played live throughout Kenya,
Mombasa Mombasa Island. Importantly, both of these names have linguistic and spiritual connections with Central Africa. "Mkisi" is considered the personification of "ukisi" which means "the holy" in kiKongo. "Kongowea" can similarly be interpreted as the Swahili locative of "kongo" which denotes the essence of civilizational order in central Africa. These legends can be read as an acknowledgment of the Bantu-speaking origins of the Swahili people. Shehe Mvita superseded the dynasty of Mwana Mkisi and established the first permanent stone mosque on Mombasa Island. Mombasa's oldest extant stone mosque, Mnara, was built c. 1300. Shehe Mvita is remembered as a Muslim