Diamond Vs Kenya: Is this Sh19.4 million deal the end of Bongo?

Diamond. [Courtesy]

For sometime now, Diamond has been the face of Tanzanian music. He has actually ruled the East African scene for over a decade that coupled by the respect he has earned himself as one of the biggest artiste from Africa.

Like many stars from across Africa, his act was launched here, Nairobi, Kenya, the entertainment hub of East Africa. His biggest performance money comes from here as well as that he makes from online platforms. Give it up to him. Kenyans love his music. He even has one of his baby mama’s here – probably the finest he has ever dated.

But now, the charts seem to have turned and…it does not look so good with the fiercest online monster in Africa, KOT, now bailing for his blood.

And why?

 A night that had promised much funfair, gas turned to a disparaging affair, with Tanzanian star Diamond Platnumz at the center of the melee.
The singer who was to headline the Furaha city event which happened over the weekend, did not perform with accusations and finger pointing being witnessed instead and entertainment heavyweights trading barbs online.

Willy Paul had accused Diamond Platnumz security of harassing him and his crew when he was scheduled to go on stage, with Diamond team stating that the organizers couldn’t handle the call times of other artists, which led to fights backstage.

The star studded event which saw the likes of Femi One, Mejja, Willy Paul, and Khaligraph Jones from Kenya with Zuchu and Rayvanny from Tanzania among the performers, left many dejected as the bongo flavor heartthrob failed to go on stage in what his management cited as security reasons.

The festival, held at the Nairobi Polo Club Grounds had kick-started well, before Kenyan singer Willy Paul, who was scheduled to perform at some point allegedly refused to honour his allocated time. This led to chaos with netizens siding with Pozze, as his moniker goes. Other notable Kenyan celebrities waded into the matter, with the majority accusing event organisers handing local acts the short end of the stick.

Event organizer Willis Raburu who had a hard time cooling things down backstage, took to social media to share his side of the story, accusing Diamond and his team of creating bottlenecks and demands which proved insurmountable.

“We deeply regret to announce that Diamond Platnumz did not perform at the Furaha City Festival as scheduled. As organisers, we made every effort to accommodate him and his team, ensuring that all plans and contingencies were in place for a seamless experience. Despite our best efforts, his team’s behaviour and demands proved regrettable and unnecessarily overbearing,” the statement read.

The como sava hitmaker had taken to social media accusing Willy Paul of causing a fuss, for showbiz purposes, something he has been keen to avoid.
While responding to Eric Omondi’s post about foreign artistes disrespecting Kenyans, Diamond said success does not come from holding grudges against others, but from one’s effort.

“You are one of the best examples. You have come to Tanzania over 10 times to headline shows and you have always been warmly received. You never heard stand-up comedians being hostile towards you or complaining about being ‘oppressed’, nor were there campaigns like ‘We want 75 per cent, Tanzanian comedians’,” he posted.

Stop!

Now Diamond has now gone ahead to show some ‘little arrogance’ to the same Kenyan’s he harvests from. Thinking he’d apologize for the no act moment last weekend, now he has blamed it on the organisers of the show for not keeping the deal as was on the contract. He reveals he was paid Sh19.4 million. “Sirudishi.”  

Many artistes have gone down this way...by leaving Kenyans ranting! By not apologising...By letting KOT get the final stop!