Are there people in this world who can shush someone online like Kenyans? Didn’t they make their own president leave Twitter as he could not take being trolled by the people he was leading?
Well, Kenyans did it again over the weekend against rapper and activist Juliani.
On Saturday, Juliani took to his Instagram page to criticize Tanzania’s singer Diamond’s 3-minute performance at Azimio’s final rally at Kasarani Stadium.
Diamond’s brief performance and appearance at the rally earned him Ksh 11 million, according to reliable sources.
Juliani was not satisfied with the performance, leading him to regard it as distasteful. He claimed that any Kenyan would have performed better than Diamond.
“Diamond in Kasarani was distasteful. Any Kenyan talent would’ve sufficed,” he posted.
Weeeeh! Kenyans came at him, with many of them dragging his wife Lilian, the ex-first lady of Machakos County, into the mix. Some even asked him not to compare himself with Diamond as Diamond is far ahead of all Kenyan music combined.
The troll went for the entire weekend until Juliani was forced to retract his statement against Diamond.
In a Monday post on Instagram, Juliani claimed that he did not mean anything bad against Diamond. He claimed that he is Pan-African, and he is happy when he sees Africans rise to the top.
His major concern was that leaders were neglecting the youth, particularly artists who depend on their art to earn a living. Julian claimed that the Azimio coalition would have taken the opportunity to support Kenyan young musicians to show that the creative industry has value.
Here’s what he wrote, “
“I am a Pan African. Everything African should thrive beyond its border. My issue was – Optics & Timing, especially in an election, a close one like this.
Every Vote counts. We have a whole constituency of creatives who are going to vote. Would’ve been the best time to have them on your side.
That’s all. Kenyan creatives often have to fight to be seen, heard, and appreciated. Being one of the fastest growing industries with massive numbers of employment across the value chain.
Optics matter. The youth shouldn’t feel like an afterthought after Ethnicity, religion, provide sector, etc.
We get them involved intentionally. I know AZIMIO IS KEEN on this. So it had nothing to do with them or me for that matter.
My comment was an observation as an active participant in the sector, a leader and a voter.”
