This archive report was first published on 21 November 2019.
November 21, 2019, marked a day of controversy in Kenya's gospel music scene after a leaked audio clip of a heated phone conversation between celebrated Kikuyu gospel singer Sammy Irungu and an alleged pastor's wife went viral.
The clip, which was seen by Nairobi News, revealed Irungu hurling unprintable insults at the woman over a Sh15,000 performance fee for a church event he failed to attend.
According to the clip, the woman had called Irungu to inquire why he had failed to show up for the event, despite receiving payment beforehand.
Irungu initially explained that he had traveled to Dubai and experienced a mishap with his return flight, but the woman pressed him for a refund, stating that the church had no plans to organize another event soon.
However, the conversation took a turn for the worse when the woman accused Irungu of disrespecting a senior person who had paid the performance fee, prompting the singer to snap and call her a prostitute among other unprintable words.
"Plan another event I come to perform. Even if I have your money don't talk badly to me. Sh15,000 is petty money. That's money for snacks. I'm paid even hundreds of thousands. Did you send me any money?" Irungu fumed in the clip.
The incident has left many in the gospel music industry concerned about the future of the industry, which has been marred by several scandals in recent times.
