Musician Kevin Kioko, better known as Bahati, was at the centre of controversy when he wept uncontrollably after being asked by the Jubilee Party to shelve his aspirations of vying for Mathare MP seat.
The “Machozi” hit maker let his tears do the talking as he pleaded with both President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga to let him have his way.
“This certificate does not represent Bahati but the youth of this country. I respect you but give the youth a chance. Give the people of Mathare a chance to get a leader they have always wanted,” said Bahati as tears flowed freely down his cheeks.
But his pleas fell on deaf ears and for Bahati, he had certainly ran out of luck. The die had been cast and the coalition’s candidate will be the incumbent MP Anthony Oluoch of ODM.
When Baron Maurice Saatchi said that politics is not a world for the squeamish or fainthearted, it seems the award-winning artist was busy shooting an episode of the Being Bahati reality show.
Pull many stunts
Neither did he listen to Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago’s advice: “Usiweke siasa kwa roho, weka kwa lungs (Don’t put politics in your heart but in the lungs).”
But being a musician known to pull many stunts to push his showbiz – where any publicity is often good – Bahati may have appeared to some observers as a man doing another episode of a reality show.
If he is not trending, he is definitely trending and mostly for the wrong reasons. There are no two ways about it for him. The controversial gospel-secular-secular-gospel musician is in love with hitting the headlines; whether bad or good.
And his weeping last week also looked like it was scripted for maximum sympathy. Well, fellow musicians have done it before.
Starehe MP Charles Njagua, popularly known as Jaguar, wept at the Jubilee headquarters in 2017 following a controversial end to Starehe constituency Jubilee primaries.
There is also Maji Maji (real name Julius Owino) of the hip hop rap duo Gidi Gidi Maji Maji who was inconsolable after losing in Seme constituency ODM nominations.
Perhaps the earlier they learn that politics is not just about reciting do-re-mi, but involves sycophantic belting out of “bado mapambano” tunes to catch the eye, the better for them. The “Isiwe hivyo” singer has learnt his lesson: in politics inakuwa hivyo.
But if drama would be able to speak, it would say the 28-year-old is its brother. The former Eastlands Most Beloved (EMB) record label president has been flirting with one drama after the other.
If he is not brushing shoulders with fellow musicians Willy Paul, Weezdom or David Wonder, he is involved in some form of drama.
For instance, he has on many occasions raised eyebrows by giving expensive gifts like cars and houses to his wife Diana Marua.
In September last year, at the launch of Mr Seed’s Black Child album, Bahati almost got into a fist fight with controversial gospel musician Ringtone after the latter called him a traitor for ditching gospel music. BY DAILY NATION
