Renowned gospel singer Ben Githae on his political campaign song and how he benefited from it

 Ben Githae, who is behind the ‘UhuruRuto’ song performs during Sonko’s swearing-in ceremony.

Popular gospel artiste Ben Githae has no regrets for singing the ‘UhuruRuto Tano Tena’ song in favour of the Jubilee government.

Done in Swahili, the song in praise of President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto focuses on their development record, touching on various projects, among them the Standard Gauge Railway, roads and free maternity.

Divisive figure

Speaking to the Metropolitan, Githae said his affiliation to Jubilee was his democratic right and he shouldn’t be vilified.

“I also have a democratic right to support whoever I like and I have been doing political rallies since 2011 so it shouldn’t be an issue. I have not lost a fan, if I have then those are Opposition supporters,” he said.

Upon its release, Githae received a lot of backlash from the public, with many finding fault with the artiste for taking a political stand.

A section of Kenyans accused him of selling his soul and prioritising money over the gospel.

To make matters worse, a section of churches labelled Githae a divisive figure whose song did not bring out the values of the institution.

They opted to ban it from playing in any religious gathering.

“I strongly believe that Kenya is a democratic state and everyone is entitled to support who they want. I see no reason for anyone to seek to crucify me for openly voicing my opinion on my preferred candidates,” he said.

However, this is not the first time the artiste has composed a song in favour of President Uhuru and his deputy Ruto.

In 2011, when the duo were facing charges at the International Criminal Court, Githae composed the song ‘Mabataro Makwa’, which quickly became a hit song after receiving massive airplay during their campaign rallies in 2011.

This time round, he said, he composed the ‘Uhuru na Ruto tano tena’ song as a thank you to the Jubilee government.

Big rewards

Githae says the song came as a huge surprise for Uhuru and Ruto, who in turn rewarded him handsomely.

Interestingly, Githae said the amount of criticism the song received was nothing compared to the congratulatory messages that he received.

Fans heaped praise on him for composing the song.

Unwilling to disclose how much he made from the song, the singer said if his recent visit to State House was anything to go by, then he made no mistake.