Les Mangelepa is a musical group from Kenya. It is considered as one of the golden era of Kenyan Lingala music acts alongside

Super Mazembe Orchestra Super Mazembe was a popular band based in Kenya playing Lingala (Soukous) music. The band had roots in Super Vox, a band formed in 1967 in Zaire and led by Nashil Pichen Kazembe, Mutonkole Longwa Didos. The band moved to Nairobi in 1974 a ...

, Baba Gaston and

Samba Mapangala Samba Mapangala is a Congolese singer and bandleader who has been based in Kenya for most of his five-decade musical career, most notably there creating and leading Virunga, which has been one of the most popular bands in East Africa for more tha ...

. The group was formed in 1976 as a splinter of Baba Gaston’s Baba National. Its original bandleader was Bwamy Walumona (Le Capitaine). The group was at the height of its popularity in the '70s and '80s with hits like ''Embakasi'', ''Maindusa'', ''Walter'', ''Safari ya Mangelepa'', ''Odesia'', ''Dracula'' and ''Maboko Pamba''.The Standard, July 2, 2009
Legendary Mangelepa marching on, 33 years later
/ref> Bwammy Walumona left Les Mangelepa in 1986 after becoming a born again Christian.Daily Nation, Lifestyle Magazine, January 24, 2009

/ref> The band has since confronted further splits and line-up changes. The group was still performing as of 2011, led by Kabila Kabanze Evany. A review of their 2018 CD, ''Last Band Standing,'' says "Their weekly residency at Club Vibro, playing a typical 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. gig, is quite a feat of endurance for the 70 year olds but conducive to sharpening their tunes to pinpoint focus."

References

{{Authority control Kenyan musical groups 1976 establishments in Kenya