Popular blogger Arthur Mandela (Xtian Dela) is being sought by the Directorate of Criminal Investigation sleuths, according to a lawyer who sent a demand letter to the blogger for running a controversial show on Instagram.
In his demand letter dated Friday, April 10, the lawyer, based at Ngugi Mburu Advocates, Nairobi, stated that he represented three parents who raised concern over the content of Mandela's show, accusing him of infringing on the rights of teenagers.
Mandela was accused of broadcasting obscene material in his show dubbed #ClubCovid, and reportedly engaged young girls before the show and later raised funds to pay the girls ('entertainers'). The show airs daily from 12 midnight to 4 a.m, outside the watershed period, and at times hosts celebrities who play a dare game.
"The DCI is after him, and we already issued him with a demand letter. He stated that he believed it was a joke," the lawyer informed Kenyans.co.ke.
In the demand letter, the lawyer stated that the show attracts over 25,000 viewers who vote for the sum of money that should be paid to an individual entertainer, who takes home between Ksh 1,000 and Ksh 20,000.
The lawyer's clients were concerned with the reportedly moral corruption and decadence brought by Mandela, apprehensive of the fact that teenagers and many other children around the country may be exposed to his illegal and immoral activities.
The parents filed a formal complaint on Wednesday, April 8 at Muthaiga Police Station and on Thursday, April 9, they filed another at the Cyber Crime Unit, DCI headquarters along Kiambu Road.
A police officer at Muthaiga Police Station spoke to Kenyans.co.ke and confirmed that the complaint was filed by the parents.
Arguing in line with section 38 of the Cybercrimes Act 2018 for distributing obscene materials and section 181 (e) of the Penal Code for publicly exhibiting an indecent show or performance tending to corrupt morals, the lawyer issued a three-day deadline to Mandela with three demands.
An immediate cease and desist from further live streaming of the show, furnishing them with a confirmation that he has stopped the live stream and issuing them a list of people he has distributed the content to. The law firm threatened to sue him and hold him liable for the costs incurred.
However, the blogger while confirming that he had received the demand letter, defended himself and his show, arguing that he had not broken any law and had hatched a way to help individuals make a living as the country faced a crisis, Coronavirus, Covid-19.
"How can the DCI be after me and I haven’t broken any law? What I’m offering is a platform for ladies and gentlemen to have fun and as a group of friends, we raise cash and pay them for entertaining us. There’s nothing wrong with that. I got a lot of friends in the US who came to me saying they want to support all these talented people in Kenya affected by Covid.
"People have no jobs, people are suffering out here, all I’m doing is offering a platform for people to have fun and my friend and I pay them. So far more than 120 ladies and gentlemen have been paid and more than Ksh 500,000 has been raised by my friends to help support these talented people during these tough times. My lawyers are currently drafting a response to the demand," Mandela argued while speaking with Kenyans.co.ke .
On Sunday, April 12, Mandela's lawyer's responded to Ngungi Mburu Advocates demand letter dated April 10, 2020.
