KFCB CEO Dr Ezekiel Mutua’s idea to ban Wamlambez by Sailors Gang from being played in the open public might have been a PR stunt gone wrong after his decision only brought more attention to the song.
The tweet by Ezekiel Mutua triggered an avalanche of comments and reactions that have gone on and caught the eyes of an international broadcaster BBC.
The firebrand ‘moral’ police condemned the international hit to clubs and bars saying that the lyrics are too explicit and ‘pornographic’.
He conveyed that it was a shame to see such songs fill our airwaves and even worse to see national leaders singing and dancing to the ‘obscenity’ in public.
He, however, made it clear that he had no issue with the ‘code’ behind the song but that he took issue with the fact that it was unsuitable for mixed company.
The Sailors’ publicist and manager, Mwalimu Rachel, tweeted that the ban was like something out of George Orwell’s Animal Farm (Shamba la Wanyama) referring to Ezekiel Mutua’s selective application of the law.
Wamlambez has become a popular hit with Kenyans in Kenya and abroad, with some jokingly calling for it to become the new National Anthem owing to its popularity.
It was chanted in the stadium after Kenya beat Tanzania in the Africa Cup of Nations in Cairo in June and at Kenya’s national stadium last month when local team Kariobangi Sharks played Everton from the English Premier League, attesting to its popularity.
Also on the receiving end was Diamond Platnumz’s song ‘Tetema’, which uses heavily coded Swahili.
Kenyans on Twitter did not take kindly to the decision by the KFCB CEO to ‘ban’ the song, and they made their views known.
