While America is touted as the land of milk and honey, Kenya
on the other hand makes the cut for the land of captivating, nerve wrenching
and at times orgasmic drama.
Stuff that will make the proud and much hyped about Mexicans
(or do I say their male folks) quake in their boots in face of cut throat
competition for dramatic soap content.
Take for instance the free for all drama witnessed by party hungry,
Reggae music levelers at the Kenyatta international conference center, Saturday.
Taking law into own hands
A respectable duo of reggae spitting musicians, consisting of Jamaican
superstar Tarus Riley and Ivory
Coast’s Maestro Alpha Blondy were
supposedly coming to town to throw a never seen before, fun filled reggae
concert, according to a promoter by the name Big Tunes Entertainment, who I learn, were uniting them with their
loyal fans.
Kenyans, as has become the norm whenever such music bigwigs
come to town, had purchased costly advance tickets to have a night of fun.
The tickets went for between Kshs 2, 500 and 5,000, clean
amounts that without a doubt left many a fans wallets heavily dented,
considering that Kenyan Reggae fan base consists of some few pockets of the
well to do middle class and a sea of
dirt poor humanity, commonly referred to as the sufferers.
Local musicians entertained the expectant crowd, setting up
the stage, and perhaps the mood for the big stars.
All hell broke loose at around 3.00 am when it became
increasingly apparent that the stars were nowhere to be seen.
Hell hath no fury.
Bloodthirsty bang smoking and thuggish levelers descended on
the assembled reggae fans, looting and destroying speakers and music systems
and harassing organizers and other levelers as they demanded for a refund of
their cash. From who? No one in particular.
They also looted mobile phones cash and other personal effects
on their wake.
It was another installment of unprecedented drama and shame as
Kenyan reggae promoters came on the limelight over unpaid artiste fees and poor
management.
The Bonkke affair
Reinhard Bonkke is a popular televangelist whose religious
crusades attracted tens of thousands of faithful and fans in the 1990’s such
that they were legendary.
It is claimed that the preacher healed thousands of crippled
Kenyans and other denizens suffering from mysterious maladies ranging from the
feared and life threatening Kidney and heart diseases to the complex diseases
like cancer and HIV.
While the 90’s crusades were a big hit affair that left many
tongues wagging, this year’s event was uncharacteristically low key and boring.
This was on account of a few people who attended the dull event at Nairobi’s
Uhuru Park, running from Wednesday till Sunday and attracting just a few
hundreds.
Even the media is reported to have given the event a wide
berth.
On inquiry as to why the international preacher has lost his
luster, a friend of mine opined that “Expecting Bonkke to shine on 20 years
later is like comparing a menopausal woman with the beautiful damsel she was 2 decades ago,” I fainted.
