This archive report was first published on 8 June 2020.
Published on June 8, 2020, Sauti Sol's Bien has shared a harrowing experience of how the band was conned out of their earnings following a show in Congo.
The incident occurred years ago, when the band performed at a small venue with a tiny audience, despite giving their best performance.
According to Bien, the promoter had promised to pay them $10,000 (Sh 1 million) after the show, but failed to do so.
“On the day of the show, we went to the venue at like 10 in the night! The venue was a ghost town, there were like 15 people in that place, and the sound was whack,” he said.
After the show, the promoter claimed he needed to go to the bank to settle the payment, but never followed through.
The band was left stranded, with their hotel room unpaid for, and were desperate to leave as it was December 24 and they wanted to be home for Christmas.
“So, manze, everyone is so desperate at that point because at that point I don’t even care about the money, I just want to leave. I just want to go,” he says.
They were forced to make the difficult decision to walk away from the money and catch the bus that crossed the border into Kigali, where they managed to catch their flight back to Nairobi.
Bien advised artistes to make sure of 90 per cent deposit, 10 per cent negotiable or before performing, as once you’re on stage, it’s in God’s hands.
