‘Kanungo Eteko’ musician Otieno Aloka arrested over dirty Facebook Live show

Ohangla musician George Adinda, popularly known as Otieno Aloka, has been arrested.

Aloka, who is being held at the Kisumu Central Police Station, was earlier Friday (August 21, 2020) grilled by the DCI after the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) lodged a complaint against his song titled ‘Meru’ (Dholuo word to mean ‘your mother’), which he broadcast live on Facebook last Saturday, August 15.

In the song, the artiste used vulgar lyrics to refer to women and their private parts.

Kisumu Woman Representative, Rosa Buyu, was among the first people to call for the musician’s arrest and prosecution.

Buyu’s complaints caught the attention of KFCB boss, Dr Ezekiel Mutua, who promised lawful action against the musician, terming Aloka’s lyrics as “perverted and aimed at polluting the minds of children”.

In the frowned-upon video that was widely shared on Facebook and Twitter, Aloka was seen singing with his band comprising two female dancers, two pianists, a drummer and a background vocalist.

On Sunday, August 16, the artiste took to social media to apologise to the public following the backlash, saying the song was not meant for public consumption, but was a special request from his client in Germany.

"I never meant to disrespect women and they are the people I want to sincerely apologise to. This song was for a client," said the ‘Kanungo Eteko’ hit-maker.

Following Aloka’s arrest Friday, KFCB’s regional manager in Nyanza, Edward Koech, said the musician will be charged in court on Monday, August 24.

“He has recorded a statement. We understand that after he went online to perform the obscene music, members of the public called for action against him, terming the song as sexually explicit and lewd. Parents, the clergy and elected leaders from Nyanza demanded his arrest,” Koech told K24 Digital.

“Kisumu Woman Representative, Rosa Buyu, was among the complainants. As KFCB, upon evaluating the song, we were in agreement that it was obscene and not meant for public consumption.

“Police will on Monday [August 24] arraign him in a Kisumu court, where he will be charged with distribution and exhibition of unclassified content to the public. He will also be charged with filming without a license from KFCB. His third offence is displaying obscene audio-visual content that is likely to corrupt the morals of children and young people,” said Koech.

The offences, according to the KFCB official, attract a fine of Ksh100,000 or a 5-year jail term, or both.

Koech said KFCB has ensured that the music video is no longer in circulation.

“The Board has a close working relationship with Google. We contacted the search engine, which has since pulled down the artiste’s controversial music,” he said.