Since the first discovery of a broad-lined type Ic supernova ( SN ) with a long-duration gamma-ray burst ( GRB ) in 1998 , fewer than fifty gamma-ray burst supernovae ( GRB-SNe ) have been discovered . The intermediate-luminosity Swift GRBÂ 161219B and its associated supernova SNÂ 2016jca , which occurred at a redshift of z = 0.1475 , represents only the seventh GRB-SN to have been discovered within 1Â Gpc , and hence provides an excellent opportunity to investigate the observational and physical properties of these very elusive and rare type of SN . As such , we present optical to near-infrared photometry and optical spectroscopy of GRBÂ 161219B and SNÂ 2016jca , spanning the first three months since its discovery . GRBÂ 161219B exploded in the disk of an edge-on spiral galaxy at a projected distance of 3.4Â kpc from the galactic centre . GRBÂ 161219B itself is an outlier in the E _ { p,i } - E _ { \gamma,iso } plane , while SNÂ 2016jca had a rest-frame , peak absolute V -band magnitude of M _ { V } = -19.0 , which it reached after 12.5 rest-frame days . We find that the bolometric properties of SNÂ 2016jca are inconsistent with being powered solely by a magnetar central engine , as proposed by other authors , and demonstrate that it was likely powered exclusively by energy deposited by the radioactive decay of nickel and cobalt into their daughter products , which were nucleosynthesized when its progenitor underwent core collapse . We find that 0.22Â MÂ _ { \odot } of nickel is required to reproduce the peak luminosity of SNÂ 2016jca , and we constrain an ejecta mass of 5.8 Â MÂ _ { \odot } and a kinetic energy of \approx 5 \times 10 ^ { 52 } Â erg . Finally , we report on a chromatic , pre-maximum bump in the g -band light curve , and discuss its possible origin .