NAIROBI, Kenya, May 25 \u2013 Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has launched a scathing attack on a group of Kikuyu musicians who recently visited Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, accusing them of betraying the Mount Kenya community and calling for a total boycott of their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking during a public event in Murang\u2019a, Gachagua claimed the artists\u2019 visit to Kindiki\u2019s Karen residence on March 23 angered local elders, who have now demanded that the musicians issue a formal apology or face a sweeping economic and social boycott.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The musicians mentioned include some of the most prominent names in the Kikuyu music scene\u2014Samidoh Muchoki, Karangu Muraya, Ben Githae, Jose Gatutura, DJ Fatxo, Sammy Irungu, Martin Wajanet, and Ngaruiya Junior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gachagua alleged that each artist was paid KSh50,000 to attend the meeting, accusing them of placing personal gain above the interests of the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey were given KSh50,000 each. These are the same people who continue to frustrate our region, yet our artists go sit with them. If they don\u2019t apologise to the community, we must unfollow them and stop supporting their music,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He urged entertainment venues to stop booking performances by the musicians and called on fans to boycott their songs and social media pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe elders have resolved that we stop listening to their music. Clubs that host them should be avoided, and their followers on social media should unfollow them until they apologise,\u201d Gachagua added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In response, Deputy President Kindiki defended the meeting, saying the artists had come to seek government support in dismantling exploitative cartels in the creative industry and ensuring fair compensation for their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMusicians and others in the creative space are seeking government intervention to ensure exploitative cartels are removed and their talent is more rewarding,\u201d Kindiki stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also condemned political figures who have historically misused artists for personal praise or to produce divisive music in exchange for token payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLeaders who have misused musicians for personal praise or inciteful songs for small tokens are bound to be annoyed by this decision,\u201d Kindiki said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The fallout reflects widening political rifts in the Mount Kenya region ahead of the 2027 general election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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NAIROBI, Kenya, May 25 \u2013 Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has launched a scathing attack on a group of Kikuyu musicians who recently visited Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, accusing them of betraying the Mount Kenya community and calling for a total boycott of their work. Speaking during a public event in Murang\u2019a, Gachagua claimed the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14288,"featured_media":772578,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[24136,1981,24135,491,10424,2246,24134],"coauthors":[2156],"class_list":["post-772574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-stories","tag-ben-githae","tag-featured","tag-karangu-muraya","tag-kenya","tag-kithure-kindiki","tag-rigathi-gachagua","tag-samidoh-muchoki"],"yoast_head":"\n