Last week I spoke to comedian Paul Kimani commonly known as MCA Tricky. He spoke candidly about the way the government had handled the Covid-19 pandemic especially as pertains to entertainers.
He was frustrated and upset with Serikali telling me, “Those guys should open up the country. And that isn’t, please. I will say that I am not a politician but the government isn’t cognisant about what is happening on the ground”
Adding, “They don’t know. Let me speak from experience. If there is a department that has been forgotten is art and talent in the country. We are treated like we don’t exist. Event organisers have closed their eyes like they don’t see.”
Paul said that the experience had nearly made him think of mobilising other entertainers together, as they pay taxes.
“I nearly even became a mobiliser to call all artists, we have a press conference where we speak. We have the right, we pay the taxes. The government should also look into me. They are looking at doctors and boda bodas, they should also look into me. Talent in Kenya, starting from sports, people who run. people who play football, musicians, comedians and even the acrobats we see on the streets. Where do we expect these people to make money from?”
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He even explained how some other entertainers he knew were hiding their jobs because of how hard it was to get permits to work.
“For example, I have some MC’s I know, who are not in the limelight that you don’t know about who do ruracio’s every weekend. At the moment they are afraid to do that because the government might come for them. At the moment if you go for a license for an event, you are disturbed, you have to beg and if you fail to speak well, you won’t be given,” he said.
He summarised by calling out the government while asking other artistes to stand up to its oppressive policies.
“The whole system has failed us. There is no room for artists. They should open the country and when they do that they should support the talented kids all the way up.
They should even remove the taxes they have placed. Imagine they put a digital tax, after many artists went in that direction to try and rescue themselves from all the restrictions.
I call out all the artists in the country to stand up and speak without fear. Enough is enough. We will not die of depression and hunger, have our houses locked because of people who aren’t thinking about us.”
