Controversy faced a popular Kikuyu musician after his latest song was altered and negative clips of Deputy President William Ruto juxtaposed, triggering a major storm over 2022 succession politics.
Muigai wa Njoroge new song 'Mbari Ya Kimendero' was the subject of debate among politicians and likely to raise political temperatures in regions, where succession game plans were unfolding.
The song revived the debate on political songs, which have been blamed for polarising the country.
'Mbari ya Kimendero' which means "clan of the greedy" was released in August and was corrupted to introduce images of Ruto in what the singer termed as an attempt to assassinate the character of the Deputy President.
Muigai went further and distanced himself from the corrupted version of the song stating: “I am a man of God and I cannot publish a song that will evoke ethnic tension.”
The singer added: “I am the composer of the original video, 'Mbari ya Kimendero', but not the fake version that was plagiarised by my haters to tarnish my name.”
In the song, Muigai called men in power “dinosaurs” and “corrupt leaders who work day and night to ensure that water (services) do not reach Wanjiku”.
Muigai maintained that his original song was plagiarised and photos of DP Ruto and his family injected into the video.
The musician stated that he had recorded his complaint with the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) citing plagiarism of 'Kimendero', which means 'crusher' or 'oppressor'.
“I have presented a copy of my original song to the DCI and the matter is under investigation,” Muigai stated.
He had issued a disclaimer on YouTube that some unscrupulous people had edited his video to juxtapose clips and pictures of a senior Government official and his family, depicting him as the official godfather of corruption.
The song received condemnation from a cross-section of leaders, with some alledging some politicians were behind a smear campaign for their personal political gain.
