Another artiste in trouble with the law

By Peter Ndoria

Tanzanian artistes seem to have a rather tricky relationship with the law, after yet another artiste was arraigned in court and charged with manslaughter.

Elizabeth Michael ‘Lulu’ faces charges of unintentionally causing death of a fellow artiste, Steven Kanumba and was released on bail after the court, in Dar-es-Salaam, was satisfied that she had met the conditions set by it.

By the time she was being released, she had spent some nine months behind bars.

She was arrested to face those charges in April 7 last year. Her bail application was not without incidence; first the court had to satisfy itself, and after that, the deputy registrar was unavailable.

China arrest

Upon her release, the tearful artiste thanked God, her lawyers and all the fans that kept her in their prayer.

Whereas the case is still in court, she joins a trail of artistes who have had a rather dubious brush with the law.

Popular singer Matonya has had some run-ins with the law, and had to come out to deny reports that he was arrested in China.

Back here in Kenya, he once took off with unpaid bills, according to media reports.

Diamond is another artiste who has been accused of breach of contract after he reportedly failed to honour an agreement to perform, despite taking the money.

At the height of his success, Mr Nice had a dramatic lifestyle and was once charged with assault after he was allegedly in fisticuffs with his girlfriend.

He had a knack for drama, always engaging in fights, before his career went on a downward spiral.

Assault seems to be the preferred crime of choice for these artistes; others charged with the same crime in the past include Q-Chilla and Dudu Baya.

Crown

However, top singer TID takes the crown for this. He was charged and found guilty of assault after he reportedly hit a fellow patron in a bar with a crate.  A shocked TID was sentenced to prison, finally coming to terms with his ‘celebrity fits’.

It took the president’s pardon to let him out.

Luckily for him, Kikwete has a soft spot for artistes and regularly meets with them. Imagine if it was here in Kenya?

Kikwete also came to the rescue of another artiste recently when he intervened and sorted out Ray-C’s bills, which she incurred in rehab after an addiction to drugs literally wasted her otherwise very promising career.