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On Sunday, Tanzania’s singing sensation Harmonize was held in a hotel in Eldoret over unpaid bills.
The Kwangaru hitmaker checked out of Starbucks Hotel Sunday afternoon together with four companions after four hours detention.
A source intimated that he spent the night in a room worth Sh16,000 while the other four of his companions slept in Sh13,000 rooms. They were however unable to pay the bills after being abandoned by their promoter.
It took the intervention of the singer’s Kenyan friends to bail him out.
Immediately after checking out, Harmonize took to social media to condemn the promoters who he claimed refused to pay the remaining cash as agreed.
“Binafsi najua kiasi gani pesa inatafutwa kwa ugumu but kwa mapenzi yenu mlijitoa kuja kuni support sio kwasababu mie ni special sana…Ni kwa upendo wenu tu ila kilichonisikitisha ni promoters kuchukua pesa za watu then wakashindwa kuja kumalizia payment iliyobaki na kukimbia. Hii inaumiza sana,” he posted on social media.
Harmonize was expected to perform at Eldoret Sports Club Grounds in a fete dubbed Chaget Festival but failed to turn up.
Confusion and chaos erupted after it became clear that the star would not be performing.
Eldoret South Police boss Wilson Abduba confirmed the incident and said they took control of the situation and arrested the event organisers.
“We have arrested the organizer and owner of Shado Events Douglas Obobe Maina who is assisting us in carrying out the investigations. My officers dispelled the angry crowds who destroyed tents, plastic chairs and later on, blocked the Eldoret-Kapsabet road as they burnt tyres,” he added.
There were reports that the musician refused to perform even after pocketing a huge down payment demanding to be paid in US dollars.
Nevertheless, the star through his official Instagram account has indicated he will perform in Nairobi and Mombasa in December, joking that he has since received the full payment this time round.
This comes barely two months after Nigerian singer Tiwa Savage was detained in a Nairobi hotel over unpaid bill after a disagreement with her promoters.
Jamaican artist Everton Blender last month also faced the wrath of faceless promoters who switched off their phones and disappeared.
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