Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is pushing singer Ben Githae to apologise to the people of Mt Kenya for campaigning for Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance coalition in the run up to August 2022 general elections.
Gachagua met Githae at the burial ceremony of Ms Pauline Nyokabi who is Trade CS Moses Kuria’s sister. “When things were tough for us, all the musicians, save for a few, abandoned us and started campaigning for Azimio and Mr Raila Odinga.
”Your job is to listen to the people and sing what they want. Then you will be in business. Especially you Githae…you have to apologise to these people…you lied to Mr Odinga that there was a mountain you could deliver to him…The mountain is ours and we are its dwellers”. he said.
He further bragged off that politically correct singers like Ngaruiya Junior who stuck with Dr William Ruto have been rewarded with state appointments.
“Ngaruiya Junior and Muigai wa Njoroge were the only musicians who remained loyal to their community as others went to Azimio,” the DP added.
But Githae has defended his love for Azimio which he praised it for enabling musicians to sucessfully push for the increment of Skiza tune payments from 16 per cent to 52 per cent.
“Mobile phone service providers were in 2009 paying us 7.5 per cent of gains in our musical copyrights. The figure increased to 16 per cent in 2012 but when we met Mr Odinga in 2021, the percentage rose to 52 per cent. My association with Azimio and Mr Odinga brought my fellow musicians more earnings,” Githae argued.
Gachagua is turning heat on Githae weeks after President William Ruto warned him Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja to mind their jobs. The Deputy President and the Nairobi governor have been feuding over how business should be done in the country’s capital.
He cautioned Governor Sakaja against removing public service vehicles from the CBD in a move to decongest the city. Gachagua argues that the decision was going to hurt people from Mt Kenya region who elected him to Nairobi’s top seat.
