Boutross Cornered Over Performance In Largest Kenyan Concert In Europe
Prince Otach organized the Kenya Diaspora Festival which he termed and marketed as the largest Kenyan concert held in Europe.
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Kenyan rapper Mwembia Munene popularly known as Boutross found himself at the centre of a potential legal showdown after Prince Otach, the ‘Chief Executive Officer’ of Kenyans in the United Kingdom, on Saturday, June 3 threatened to sue him.
The dispute between Prince Otach and Boutross emerged after the latter claimed he was financially scammed following a performance at a festival organised by Otach.
Prince Otach organized the Kenya Diaspora Festival which he termed and marketed as the largest Kenyan concert held in Europe.
The event took place on May 20, 2023, and promised an exciting lineup of artists and performances. However, Boutross lamented that Prince Otach circumnavigated them regarding a concert in London.
Popular Kenya-born UK-based events promoter, DJ, Radio host and CEO of Kenyans In The UK promotion agency, Prince Otach. /UGANDAN BUZZ
The rapper noted that the dispute arose when it came to completing their pay and that Otach took their earnings from a gig they managed to privately secure in Scotland after the London event.
The Angela hitmaker claimed that Prince Otach did not uphold his contractual obligations by not putting them up in the hotel they agreed upon, did not cater for their needs and did not pay them in full after the Diaspora Festival.
During this time, Boutross revealed that they were able to make new acquaintances and were able to arrange for another gig in Scotland. Following the event, Prince Otach allegedly called the lounge and told them to pay him for having Boutross perform in their establishment and did not give Boutross a cut of the earnings.
Boutross went on to call out promoters who mishandled artists especially when flying them abroad for events and organizing concerts in halls instead of stadiums.
Prince Otach, in response to his online rant, argued through his Instagram account that the rapper was new to the game and was yet to grasp the basic understanding of signing contracts.
“Boutross is quite talented, but he is still new in this music business. He will gradually learn that contracts are signed by both parties for a reason.
"I invest my hard-earned money to put up these events, so it’s in order for me to protect my investments. I can not fly an artist from Kenya to the UK only for them to come and start arranging side events behind my back," he stated.
Prince Otach termed Boutross' claims as defamatory and vowed to seek legal counsel on the matter in three days, ordering him to pay damages in two weeks, failure to which he would escalate the matter in court.
"Whether he is right or wrong is not for me to determine. From my end, this additional show in Scotland and online defamation is a legal issue.
"Boutross will be hearing from my lawyer in less than 72 hours outlining the damages I am claiming. If the damages are not paid in 14 days. The matter will be in court on the 15th day. Unfortunately, the law does not allow me to comment further on social media,” asserted Prince Otach.
Prince Otach's response was backed by John Maloba, a renowned radio journalist in Kenya, who poked holes in Kenyan artists' failure to understand the business that goes on between them and event promoters.
“These Kenyan artistes are something else. Any promoter who wants to ride on the availability of an artist must buy the show from the promoter who facilitated the availability.
"Common sense is not common after all. Any artist who does a sideshow must pay his promoter for expenses incurred to land the artist in Europe. Prince Otach, teach them a lesson,” Maloba opined.
Boutross is not new to legal clashes. On Saturday, March 11, he threatened to sue controversial blogger Edgar Obare over nude photos allegedly leaked by a runs girl he took for a steamy session.
Obare had claimed that Boutross met the young woman at a club in Mombasa, took her home for a one-night stand and paid her Ksh4,000.
