FANCY FINGERS LAUNCHES HIS GUITAR LINE JAWAYA

Renowned Kenyan guitarist and Sauti Sol band member Polycarp Otieno, popularly known as Fancy Fingers, has launched his own guitar line, Jawaya. 

Speaking on the Buzz Central Podcast with CheptoeK Boyo, Otieno shared the vision behind this venture. “There are actually two of them,” Otieno revealed, referring to the guitar models. “Since I was a child, I’ve had this dream. I used to make guitars out of Kasuku tins and pieces of wood just for fun, of course. I didn’t even know they weren’t functional, but it’s something I loved doing. Now, picking up the guitar later in life, it feels like full circle.”

Coming from a musical lineage his grandfather was also a guitarist, Otieno sees this as more than just a business: “It runs in the blood. I feel like I’m living his dream, and this is what he would have wanted me to do.”

His inspiration stems from the challenges African musicians face in accessing quality instruments, “Traveling all over the world, I’ve seen how something as simple as access to instruments can change your life. That’s not something we have in abundance here in Kenya or the continent. It’s very hard for a kid from Kariobangi South like me to say, ‘I want to be a musician,’ if they can’t get a good-quality guitar unless they travel or know someone abroad.”

He also highlighted the irony of Africa’s raw materials being exported for instrument production elsewhere, “A lot of these instruments are built from African raw materials with the expertise is outside. I don’t blame those doing it, but as Africans, how do we tell our own story through music? We say we’re the cradle of mankind and even music was born here so why aren’t we leading in this space? My Pan-Africanism and entrepreneurship drove me to create an African guitar line that musicians can see and relate to.”

The brand name Jawaya is a Luo word meaning guitarist, a deliberate choice to root the product in African identity. Otieno explained, “I wanted an African name specifically Luo because you need to see it and feel connected. The designs are deeply African, with two signature series: Dala and Sayun. Dala symbolizing roots and belonging, this guitar is brown, representing the earth and Africa as home. Sayun reflecting aspiration, whether mental, physical, or spiritual. It’s where you want to be, and you work towards that.”