Conjuring up references to 1970s cult classics like “Shaft,” Just-a-Band’s latest video, “Ha-He,” introduces the fictional Makmende sporting shades, chains, an Afro pick and what appears to be polyester. Directed by Jim Chuchu and Mbithi Masya, the clip is a tribute to “ass-kicking” of days past — even the name “Makmende” is a throwback to a word used in mid-1990s Nairobi to connote a know-it-all or local hero (and bully.)

The video — with “Big-G,” “Godfrey and the Laydayz,” “Black Sahara” and others backing up Makmende — has drawn more than 24,300 hits in the week since its release and the success doesn’t end there. Kenyan bloggers and Tweeters have seized on the video and launched a campaign for the man they’re calling Kenya’s very own Chuck Norris — complete with one liners about Makmende’s superhero skills and prowess. Makmende on Facebook has already collected 19,200 fans — with more joining by the minute.

Makmende has a number of catch-phrases to his credit, including “Just heard that #Makmende can tweet 141 letters!”; “Some people wear Superman pajamas. Superman wears #Makmende pajamas”; “#makmende is so cool, Even his enemies list him as their emergency contact number”; and “#Makmende can never have a heart attack, his heart is not so foolish to attack him.”

Observers are abuzz over how Kenyans are embracing social media to canonize one of their own — and the prospects for branding and merchandising aren’t lost on them. Orders for Makmende T-Shirts are being advertised in several places on the net, while blog commenters are calling this a “new frontier” for Kenyan artists.