Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is now asking artists to exclude people with questionable characters from their events.
He emphasized that artistes should avoid people who face integrity issues, including when they try to revive the banned Mungiki sect through musical activities.
“I want to appeal to our artists to be very careful. Do not allow your work to be misused and hijacked by people with bad behavior and Please do not be harassed by people with questionable behavior. You know what they did to our youth and what happened to our children.”
Gachagua spoke during the launch of the Samidoh Foundation on Thursday night at Parklands Sports Club Nairobi.
His remarks come a week after female MPs from Mount Kenya raised concerns about the resurgence of the illegal group and the operation of its activities; a move that they said creates fear among women.
The charity is owned by Kikuyu musician Samuel Muchoki, popularly known as Samidoh.
The Deputy President said that people associated with the outlawed group are trying to return to the public through events organized by artists and hijacking those activities to address the crowd.
He asked artists to ensure that their events are respectful by denying dangerous people a platform to talk to the audience.
“They are trying to get back through you (artists) by hijacking your celebrations. Leaders and businessmen have started to exclude those people. We will be grateful and attend events where there are women, young people, old people and respectable people,” Gachagua said.
Recently, the Deputy President warned the attempt to revive the Mungiki group will be taken seriously.
He recalled that at its peak, the outlawed group was known for extortion of traders, rape and murder.
In his speech, the Deputy President urged artists to embrace the culture of saving dignified lives in the future.
“Make grass, when the sun is shining but also learn to save because you will not be young forever, when you grow old you should have invested your young life for the future. Let’s pursue talents, let’s make money but also invest because that money will be a blessing for you in old age,” he said.
The Deputy President was accompanied by the Secretary of the Council of Ministers for Youth Affairs, Sports and Arts Ababu Namwamba, Chief Secretaries Alex Wachira (Energy) and Eng John Mbugua (Transport) and more than 10 Members of Parliament and Senators.
