Why Kenyans Want Shaffie Weru Declared Innocent 3 Years After Homeboyz Radio Firing
The remarks made on air saw him advise women to be cautious during initial encounters with men they are unfamiliar with.
admin
Celebrated media personality, Shaffie Weru has in just the first two weeks of 2024 drawn public attention amidst growing calls for Kenyans to have him vindicated following his controversial firing from Homeboyz Radio on March 28, 2021.
The radio king was terminated from the Radio Africa Group radio station alongside Neville Musya, now attached to Trace Radio, and popular Disc-jockey Joseph Munoru alias DJ Joe Mfalme after their remarks triggered a nationwide uproar.
The remarks made on air saw him advise women to be cautious during initial encounters with men they are unfamiliar with. To be specific, this came in the aftermath of a disturbing incident of a Nairobi man who pushed a woman off the 12th floor of a building during a date, in an assault case the man was convicted for.
At the time, he urged women to play hard to get to avoid getting caught in risky situations, though the remarks were termed by many netizens as disrespectful and promoting gender-based violence.
Former Homeboyz Radio presenters Shaffie Weru, Neville Muasya and DJ Joe Mfalme. /NAIROBI NEWS
"I am telling the ladies that they need to play hard to get, you need to stop being too available, you can't be the ladies who receive calls to go drink alcohol 40 kilometres away from home with a stranger.
"Are Kenyan ladies too available? Are they too loose? Are they too desperate? That's why they get themselves caught up in such situations," Shaffie said on a live show in 2021.
The Ouster
In a statement dated March 27, 2021, Homeboyz Radio's parent company, Radio Africa Group, indicated that the decision to fire the trio was reached after a comprehensive review of the comments made on the station’s Thursday morning show, adding that the topic in discussion was neither approved nor authorised by the management.
According to the statement, the company had established that the conduct of the three constituted gross misconduct leading to a breach of the company’s editorial policy.
The Media Council of Kenya (MCK) commended the radio station's actions, including public apologies and retractions, in line with their journalism code of conduct, with the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) enforcing tougher penalties, including a Ksh1 million fine slapped on the radio station.
The termination was viewed as addressing violations related to the use of names and pictures.
Shaffie Prediction?
Three years later, a series of tragic incidents involving the murder of young women in what is now seen as femicide led to increased concerns regarding the safety of women in Kenya.
Following the brutal murders of Instagram influencer Starlet Wahu and the macabre killing of a 20-year-old at TRM Drive along Roysambu in Nairobi, as well as the roping of John Matara (main suspect in Wahu's murder) in a series of crimes against women, netizens believed that Shaffie may have predicted what was to emerge.
Demand Apology
Citing the alarming rise in femicide cases against Kenyan women, especially in Airbnb accommodations, Kenyans on X rallied behind Shaffie Weru and demanded an apology from the radio station, and those who supported his sacking.
"This country owes Shaffie Weru an apology, when he spoke about the issue of women being readily available, the feminist orchestrated his downfall.
"Women crucified him for telling them the hard truth. Nowadays we're introduced to new murdered victims at Airbnb every weekend," George Diano wrote in part.
"There have been cases of women losing their lives in AirBnB's lately and it goes back to Shaffie Weru being fired for warning women not to follow through with these invitations. I think he was telling the truth which was a hard pill to swallow back then," Kilundeezy weighed in.
Some comments reflect a sense of regret, with calls for Shaffie's exoneration and acknowledgement that he was unfairly treated.
Why Was Shaffie Really Fired?
With Homeboyz Radio nor Radio Africa Group and Shaffie Weru yet to respond to the vindication calls that grow louder by the day, it is worth noting that Shaffie had previously clarified that the remarks were not why he was fired.
According to him, the customers of the companies that had sponsored him owing to his premium status in the Kenyan radio industry had turned on him and directed their anger at the companies affiliated with him.
“The reason I was fired you need to understand was never about the tweets or the people, it was about the companies that were spending money on me because I was a very big presenter. Their customers were the ones attacking me, so they also started attacking the companies,” Shaffie told Nairobi News on November 24, 2022.
“That was the reason why my firing was effected. It was not because of what I said.”
What Shaffie Does Now
Shaffie currently works with the Nairobi County Government as the head of events and branding where he is fully in charge of all the county's events as well as branding, a role termed to be aiding in delivering Governor Johnson Sakaja's manifesto.
His current role, which he holds for a period of up to five years, involves overseeing all governors’ indoor and outdoor events, ensuring they look, feel, and sound amazing.
