This archive report was first published on 8 December 2021.
On December 8, 2021, Japan's outgoing Ambassador to Kenya, Ryoichi Horie, and his wife entertained President Uhuru Kenyatta with two famous Kenyan Kiswahili songs at State House in Nairobi.
The first song was Daima Mimi Mkenya by Eric Wainaina, followed by Malaika by Fadhili William. Horie played the guitar as his spouse sang along with him, impressing President Kenyatta with their performance.
However, the video of the performance was met with backlash from some Kenyans after it was shared on State House official pages. The clip was later deleted hours later.
According to activist Boniface Mwangi, Eric Wainaina was banned from performing at state events after he revealed in 2013 that he could not vote for President Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto due to their facing crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court in Hague, Netherlands.
“The irony of Japanese ambassador performing Eric Wainaina’s Daima song at State House is that Eric is banned from State events. Eric wrote an op-ED for the Star newspaper in 2013 saying he cannot vote for two men accused of crimes against humanity. Uhuruto’s government blacklisted him. One of Kenya’s best musicians can’t perform at State events for speaking truth to power. Uhuruto punished him,” the activist said.
