Maasai Celebrity Fighting for Human Rights

The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)

Erick Mchome

5 June 2011

Forty-three years ago, Lekoko Ole Levilal, a Maasai boy was born in Lengijave Village. He grew up like any other pastoral boy of his times, wearing shuka and raison (Maasai sandals). When he was old enough to be a morani (Maasai young man), he was tasked with herding cattle.

Then one day as he took care of cattle in the jungle, Ole found a black plastic thing lying on the ground. He had no idea what it was, but he picked it up anyway and brought it home.

“It was fascinating, and I just liked the way it looked, but I did not know how it worked, So, I decided to take it home to my father,” says Ole. However, his parents were not amused. The young boy got a thorough beating for picking objects he did not know. They took the black object and kept it hidden for years.

It was not until after several years that they returned the ‘black object’ to him, perhaps because they believed he had grown old enough to be adventurous. Nobody ever conceived the idea that the nameless ‘black object’ would change the young boy’s life forever.

“When they gave me the object back, I had just completed Standard Seven in 1989. I took it to the headmaster of the school I attended, who told me it was a camera, and that it takes pictures,” recalls Ole.

“I was amazed. But he said since it had been broken we needed to fix it in Arusha town. It was my first time to go to town having spent all my childhood in our community.”

“But we had the camera fixed, and from then on nothing felt was as important to me as my camera. Even in secondary school, I continued with my passion for photography,” says Ole, an award-winning photojournalist, and former student of the Dar es Salaam School of Journalism where he studied for a diploma in journalism.

A long journey

Now the popular man behind the hilarious TBC and ITV ‘Daladala Talk Show’, Ole looks back to say his has been a long journey shaped by his consistent drive to do what he feels so passionately about.

Life could have been different for the talk show host. “We grew up with no motivation for school because we had to walk a distance of 14 km to and from school,” he recalls.

“But I guess I was a lot more different from my peers because I never lost focus of my dream to study and become a renowned photojournalist.”

His passion for the camera landed him in trouble several times. At one time, he was suspended from school after taking photos of young women. And in 1994, he diverted Sh40,000 his parents had given him for school fees to buy a new camera. He had to start photography business to replace the money.

Later, he was to win a scholarship to Zanzibar where he joined the Nkrumah Photo Club of Journalism. This was the turning point of his career as a photojournalist.

“I started contributing to two newspapers in Zanzibar – Nuru and Zanzibar Leo. I took a photo later of the Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF) director, which appeared on the front page of the Zanzibar Leo Newspaper, and the photo, which was said to be one of their best ever, saw me getting promoted to the post of ZIFF press officer.”

His career in the media took a further step when he won an award in 2002 for his work as a writer as well. That was a year before he left for Berlin, Germany to pursue a diploma in television and festival management.

He later scooped another scholarship that saw him off to Nairobi, Kenya for a postgraduate diploma in Film and TV production at Mohamed Amini Foundation. This followed his participation in ‘The great African’ series aired on MNET.

The series includes the life and achievements of eight African leaders, including Nelson Mandela, Kwame Nkrumah, among others.

“This opportunity was given to me so that I could tell through film, the life of Mwalimu Nyerere and Patrice Lumumba, the Congolese independence leader and the first legally elected Prime Minister of the Republic of Congo,” says Ole.

In 2008, the Epic Global Media of Canada wanted someone to monitor light during production. Ole won the opportunity that saw him work with renowned fashion celebrity, Christy Turlington. The film was titled ‘No Woman No Cry’ and its theme was on maternal health.

“My mission has always been to do something to help my society. When I look back at my village where I grew up, I do not feel proud of or happy with the situation there,” says the Daladala show director.

“It is only my house there, which has solar power. All my neighbours still live in darkness.” His show started last year and is funded by a Dutch company.

The father of two says his passion is promoting human rights. “I cannot stand seeing someone in trouble and or being victimised without helping.”

He adds: “This show is a way of using my talent to communicate people’s troubles to relevant authorities since I cannot save enough money from my own pocket to reach out to everybody with a problem.”

Ole is now working on a talk show called ‘Nchi Yetu’, which will be launched this month at ZIFF. The show to be sponsored by the Tanzania Media Fund (TMF) will focus on human rights issues.

“I want to bring experts, victims and the audience to discuss pertinent issues related to human rights,” says Ole.

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