This archive report was first published on 9 October 2019.
Published on October 9, 2019, a clip of Diamond Platnumz's acceptance speech at the Best of Africa (BOA) awards has been making waves on social media.
The Tanzanian singer, popularly known by his stage name Diamond Platnumz, received the Philanthropic Endeavour Community Action Award at the Rosewood in London.
However, his struggles with the English language left many netizens in stitches as he attempted to express himself in a language he is not well conversant with.
"First of all, am so grateful and honoured to receive this award, and I believe this award will motivate more youths back home and to change the mindset of a lot of musicians," Diamond said in the speech that went viral.
Despite the backlash, Diamond Platnumz took to Instagram to share a picture of him with former Manchester United legend, Rio Ferdinand, who was also in London for the awards.
Netizens were quick to react, with some calling out the singer for not speaking in his native language, while others praised his speech as short and clear.
BOA has been celebrating and rewarding Africans artists and players for their philanthropic endeavours and achievements in society.
Artistes and players with the greatest impact in the preceding year have been winning the award, with former Arsenal player Alex Iwobi among players who recently won the award in 2018.
