It is not news now that Dr. Mutua who is the CEO of the Kenya Film Classification Board has decreed that the lyrics of Wamlambez by the Sailors can only be played in night clubs and bars – where the audience is strictly adult. In the same decree, he also banned Tetema by Rayvanny ft Diamond Platnumz – two very successful songs. What is news is the different reactions that many Kenyans have had to the ban.
There is the religious folk who have viewed the song as some sort of a curse since it hit the airwaves and broke the internet on side of the divide, and fans of the song who have been the backbone of its success on the other. But one thing that both sides can agree on, is why now? The song has been with us for over five months now – why wait for this long before taking action? If the lyrics were obscene and the morality of Kenyans were at stake, why wait until it has almost 4 million views to do something about it?
On top waiting this long to ‘take action,’ has Dr. Mutua taken the time to consider what this will do to the ballooning music industry? For the first time in many of our readers’ history, the support for Kenyan music right now is unprecedented! He has a long history of deciding what young people should listen to, which we personally feel is punching above his weight in terms of job description. Above and beyond that, what about all the obscene songs and material that young people are exposed from the international music scene?
There isn’t much that can be done now that a decision has been made, but we hope that Dr. Mutua takes some of the points we have raised here seriously.