The late Benson Wanjau, also known as Mzee Ojwang Hatari, and his colleagues from the Vitimbi crew recently shared their experiences on NTV's The Trend with Larry Madowo.
Mary Khavere, known as Mama Kayai, expressed her disappointment and bitterness over their sudden dismissal from the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC). She stated:
"KBC chased us one morning after all those years saying that we were old. They didn’t tell us what went wrong. That was very disrespectful of our careers"
and added
"We left empty handed. They didn’t give us even a penny after firing us. The pan is still there even after all that time"
The Vitimbi show had been a long-time classic on KBC before it was removed from the screen last year. However, the crew noted that the show is currently available on GOtv Channel 4.
Call for Art Policy ¶
Gibson Mbugua, also known as Prosecutor from the Vioja Mahakamani show, emphasized the need for an Art Policy in Kenya to protect artists' rights. He said:
"The reason why Mzee Ojwang died in that state and the reason we do not earn a decent living is because there is no Art Policy in Kenya. We get used and dumped because we are not protected. We need to have a way of tapping talent and rewarding it as well."
The Vitimbi crew remembered Mzee Ojwang as a father and role model, and they planned to give him a heroic sendoff. Mbugua stated:
"We are making plans to give Mzee a heroic and decent sendoff because he deserves it."
Mzee Ojwang was to be buried on July 29th at Lang'ata Cemetery after a service at Nyayo Stadium.
The recovered account cited reporting by Nairobi News.
