Much has been made about the controversial death of Gospel artist Papa Dennis who was found dead in Pangani, Nairobi on Friday, January 7.
The Makekes hit-maker fell from an apartment building in Pangani on Friday night, with police suspecting suicide.
Media reports alleged that Papa Dennis had fallen into depression, with sources quoted in multiple articles claiming he was experiencing financial troubles.
Before the shocking events, however, Papa Dennis' story was one of inspiration and immense talent. In the period between 2015 and 2019, Papa Dennis had been made a household name by Sadat Muhindi, founder of the Maliza Umaskini record label.
Muhindi worked zealously to build Papa Dennis' brand and succeeded, with the artist boasting of several awards, hit singles and international collaborations. Papa Dennis worked on several projects with acclaimed artists including Chindima, Korede Bello and Mr Flavour from Nigeria, Tanzania's Christina Shusho and Ray C as well as Kenyan gospel music legend Daddy Owen.
In a past interview, as he explained why he was always pictured around flashy cars and other expensive items, Dennis noted that it was his manager Muhindi who would spare no cost when it came to the quality of his audio-visual music productions.
“I don’t decide what to spend on shooting a video, my manager Sadat and his team do. Besides, he is one person who believes in quality and will never settle for anything less,” the Kitale-born artist told Daily Nation in 2018.
A quick look at Maliza Umaskini's Youtube channel confirms that Papa Dennis was the most popular artist on the stable, with multiple videos that garnered over a million views each.
In a past post on social media as he mulled over a potential run for the Likuyani parliamentary seat, Muhindi claimed that he had invested an estimated Ksh100 million in Papa Dennis' career as of 2017.
Speaking after Papa Dennis' tragic death, Muhindi mourned the artist as talented and humble, further calling for thorough investigations into the matter.
He clarified that they had agreed to part ways with Dennis in 2019 as the artist's contract with Maliza Umaskini expired.
“Papa Dennis was a humble and amazing boy throughout the time we worked together. His contract with Maliza Umaskini was officially signed in 2013 and ran up to March 2019, exactly five years so he was not kicked out as it is being claimed.
"We sat down discussed and agreed it was time for him to go and further his career having nurtured him from the time he was upcoming to an established artiste. We did this to offer a platform for other upcoming artistes,” he explained.
Muhindi established Maliza Umaskini in 2008 along with a few friends, soon after the Post-Election Violence that followed the disputed general election in 2007.
Explaining the inspiration behind the initiative in past interviews, Muhindi noted that it was his observation that youth involved in the clashes had been used not because of their ethnic backgrounds, but because of their economic status. He resolved, therefore, to form an organisation centered around youth empowerment, noting that the organisation is involved in activities outside of music.
"Music is only 10% of what we do. Maliza Umaskini is actually about youth and women empowerment through sports and entertainment," he told UKenTV in 2015.
Even without Papa Dennis on the label, Sadat has continued to pluck various talented youth from obscurity.
In 2018, he made headlines as he offered a talented 14-year-old street-boy a contract worth Ksh64 million.
“The money is supposed to go to my education, music and management over a period of time,” remarked Daniel Simiyu alias Dantez after signing the deal.
Dantez has since released a number of singles including the popular Nibariki in 2019.
Watch an interview of Muhindi when he appeared with Papa Dennis on Radio Citizen's Mambo Mseto in 2016:
