UPDATE 21/04/2020: KFCB CEO Ezekiel Mutua announced that the song Soko by Ethic had been taken down on Youtube.
"We are pleased to report that the video Soko by Ethic Entertainment has now been taken down from YouTube following the complaint we filed yesterday. The Board will take up the matter with security agencies to ensure that the culprits face law for promoting defilement of girls," he tweeted on Monday, April 20.
He reiterated his calls for Gengetone artists to produce what he termed 'clean' content insisting that children were being exposed to harmful songs and videos.
An official music video for the song Soko by leading Gengetone group Ethic was hidden on Youtube soon after Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) Chief Executive Officer Ezekiel Mutua contributed to an uproar online concerning some of its lyrics on Sunday, April 19.
While the audio release of Soko had been out for at least two months with over 370,000 views on Youtube, the music video had been released barely two days ago and was quickly gaining traction.
Numerous fans enjoyed the song and shared it, but a section observed that some of the Sheng' lyrics by one of the group's members, Seska, bordered on paedophilia.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke on Monday, April 20, Mutua revealed that he would seek to have Ethic's Youtube channel suspended and the song's producers arrested, arguing that he had crossed swords with Ethic one too many times.
Referencing his clash with the group over their 2019 release Tarimbo whose lyrics some claimed promoted rape, Mutua insisted that Soko was worse.
"We have gotten in touch with Google who owns Youtube. We want that channel suspended. That video is disgusting. It's promoting child abuse and paedophilia, we cannot condone it.
"We are also going to pursue this matter with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI). This time, we are also going for the producers, not just the artists. I mean, why would you produce such content? We will begin shutting down those studios," Mutua stated.
The uproar over Soko had become more pronounced on Sunday, April 19 with Ethic ending up as one of the top trends on Twitter.
Questioned on if he would still seek to take action considering the group had taken down the video, Mutua insisted that he would not relent.
"We are going to be very ruthless. We are going to use them to set an example. Because we've crossed paths before.
"When they did Tarimbo it was terrible and they were given a warning. They were informed that if they continue putting out such dirty content their channel would be suspended
"Now they have put out something which is even worse. It is promoting the abuse of children, surely!" he stated.
Observing that children were home from learning institutions during the Covid-19 pandemic, Mutua stated that they would crackdown on obscene releases to protect children during the period.
"You know, right now children are home. They have access to the internet and various devices which they are supposed to use to study.
"How can you put out such dirty content at a time like this? I also saw Eric Omondi last week and the Utawezana video, we are going to crack down seriously on these things," he asserted.
Attempts by Kenyans.co.ke to reach Ethic Entertainment for comment by the time of publication were futile.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke on April 13, Mutua had revealed his intention to have Femi One and Mejja's hit single Utawezana restricted over its content which he deemed foul.
"It's a legal process. So already we have engaged the Broadcast Monitoring Unit (BMU) because there are various parameters that determine the action to be taken; for example foul language and nudity.
"Depending on what we establish, we will restrict it from being played on media stations or enter conversations with Google to have it pulled down from platforms like Youtube," he disclosed.
