Nonini Steps Up War Against Ezekiel Mutua Over Misuse Of Ksh110 M
This heightens the online battle between the two which began after the Wee Kamu hitmaker accused Mutua of allegedly mismanaging funds meant for artists.
Legendary rapper Hubert Mbuku Nakitare, alias Nonini has demanded that Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ezekiel Mutua retract defamatory remarks made against him in 24 hours, threatening to sue him should he fail to do so.
This heightens the online battle between the two which began after the Wee Kamu hitmaker accused Mutua of allegedly mismanaging funds meant for artists.
While sharing a document he claimed was the actual figures the MCSK had budgeted for artists, amongst other hefty expenses, Nonini claimed that directors of all Kenyan CMOs were benefitting more than anyone, singling out the paltry figures shared to over 16,000 artists as opposed to the monies spent on salaries, for instance.
From the document shared by Nonini, MCSK appeared to have collected Ksh110 million and only disbursed Ksh10 million to Kenyan artists. From the same breakdown, it appeared that Ksh57 million was used up on salaries and Ksh7 million going towards the Board.
Legendary rapper Nonini. /FILE
"An employee has full medical cover while an artist cannot even afford outpatient pekee! You collect 109 million, pay staff 57 million and distribute 10m to over 16,000 Musicians. SMH!" Nonini further complained.
"Show me an investor who will ever be attracted to this broken down music industry eco-system!"
In response, however, Mutua accused Nonini of not only manipulating the document to satisfy his narrative but also of misappropriating musicians' monies when he was a director of the Music Publishers Association of Kenya (MUPAKE) and the Performers Rights Society of Kenya (PRISK).
Mutua further claimed that the document was lifted from MUPAKE's accounts from 2027-2019 also adding that he had already reported Nonini to the authorities while also encouraging the United States (US)-based rapper, who he called a 'fugitive', to take the document to the DCI for investigations.
He wrote: "There's this fugitive @Noninimgenge2ru who embezzled musicians' money when he was a director of MUPAKE & PRISK. We reported him and his gang to the police last week and we are pursuing their prosecution.
"Now I hear he's circulating a FAKE document on social media purporting its official accounts of MCSK but the document is actually lifted from the MUPAKE accounts of 2017-2019 and doctored to serve the fertile imagination.
"This is how they used to steal money from artists, but we will ensure that they face the law. Boss you can run but you can't hide. If the document is genuine take it to the DCI office and record a statement," Mutua stung back on X.
Not willing to take the matter lying down, Nonini in the demand letter dismissed Mutua's label of him as a fugitive and exposed his past habits of suppressing musicians in both his current role at MCSK and his previous role at the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) on the guise of upholding morals on behalf of the Kenyan community.
"We are instructed by our client he is not a fugitive and he was in the country for the last one month and no warrants of his arrest were issued and neither was he summoned to any police station for questioning. He also instructs us that he has no criminal proceedings against him in either jurisdiction.
"Unlike our client, you are no stranger to scandals and we wonder where you get the charisma to chest thump and spew lies and half-truths at the slightest provocation whenever you see a microphone before you while hiding behind the good book. As a government official, your role remains to serve the people of Kenya regardless of their colour, creed, race, sexual orientation or religious beliefs. That way you won't have time to be overzealous and annoying whenever you speak up," read the letter in part.
Nonini then compelled Mutua to pull down the post regarding the musician on X and any other platform and to issue an unconditional apology to the artist in the next 24 hours. At the time of this publication, Mutua was yet to delete the posts from his X account.
Additionally, according to the letter, the artist would engage Mutua after the earlier two demands were met. However, failure to adhere to the demands would prompt the matter to be escalated in court.
"To sum it up, our client has instructed us and furnished us with a copy of the letter written by you to the Kenya Copyrights Board (KECOBO) dated 24th January 2024. In the letter, you have referenced the MCSK statement of Accounts and revenue distribution list from January to December 2023 which appears on page 5 of 5 of your letter.
"The same document is the one our client posted on social media while criticizing MCSK for unfair distribution of revenue. Clearly, it is not a fabrication as indicated by yourself in your post on X," added the demand letter.