Are these Kenya's most controversial celebrities?

As the sassy Camp Mulla soloist Miss Karun, was exiting the urban group to kick off her solo career, a little known Tiri popped into the limelight.

With her hip girl persona, the young beauty got the whole world talking with critics branding her a wannabe trying to fit into Miss Karun’s big shoes when she reportedly joined Camp Mulla.

But Tiri cared less about what people said about her. In fact, she seemed to like the hullabaloo.

Before long, she was hip and bone with one of the Camp Mulla leading lights Kus Ma, the son of prolific producer Suzanna Gachukia. They were, and still are, madly in love. In numerous occasions, the two have been caught flaunting their romantic passions in public. And you would be wrong to think they care what you think about them partying and kissing in public. Lately, they have been a good fodder for paparazzi that chase them to catch those juicy romantic moments.

And with this, Tiri and Kus Ma are slowly becoming big showbiz names as they ride on the publicity to push their new songs one of which Tiri launched three weeks ago.

They are not the only celebrities rocking urban Nairobi with controversy. This year has also seen the emergence of Ephy Saint, a young fashion designer who has become famous for posting his nude pictures on the Internet. The vibe about the Ephy’s nude pictures has now made his Kenyan Dula shoes label popular, and he has become a strong brand in fashion events where he is a common fixture, hitting the runway on bare chest. While some find Ephy’s nude pictures gross, the soft-spoken model is hardly moved. Controversy seems to be working for him.

Not all celebrities can thrive on controversy. In fact, some have had career threatening setbacks for pulling controversial moves that backfired on them.

The entire world still recalls singer Avril’s sexually suggestive, embarrassing photos that got critics branding her a lesbian — an accusation she refuted.

It is believed that Avril was then, simply trying to stir up things to popularise her then collabo new hit Chokoza (featuring Marya). The song became one of the biggest releases of last year. It was her most successful year.

Singer Kaz, on the other hand, is remembered for her infamous nude pictures that stunned showbiz lovers a few years back before the versatile star released a press statement saying the pictures had been stolen and the entire drill was made to spoil her name.

While for some, controversy is simply poked by their egos and attitudes, which some people find unbearable hence the strong public backlash, some celebrities have made controversy a lifestyle at the expense of negative public image. For others, fate simply throws them out of favour with the world. Here are a few examples:

 Nick Mutuma

He was the lanky actor in Shuga who drove ladies wild with imagination. He went into radio and rose through the ranks at One FM.

He decided his skills were better off in a song and that ruined everything. Since the release of the song 254, Nick has been the joke of Kenyans, with every bad song released compared to his.

Huddah

From posting condolence messages about the wrong celebrities, to getting evicted from the continental Big Brother Africa (BBA) reality TV show in her first week, Huddah is always an interesting topic to Kenyans. She even called Addis Ababa a country and made Kenya the laughing stock of Africa during the BBA show. Her only grace is the naked and semi-naked pictures she posts on her social account, or so it seems, as people keep on talking about them, giving her a lifeline.

Ian Mugoya

The Str8Up host is loved and hated in equal measure. The girls are all infatuated by him and the lads that don’t respect his swag hate him. And yes, no level of bad mouthing from haters ever moves the cool hunk. He is just his own man!

Caroline Mutoko

A favourite with the feminists for her outspoken nature, Caroline Mutoko is always rubbing her haters the wrong way thanks to her bold attitude, especially when bringing out public issues on radio. Regardless the heat that is often mounted on her, Caroline hardly gets moved to apologise for any statement she deems right. And because of this, many a times, the critic in her has found herself clashing with critics.

Pendo

Pendo, the socialite, loves controversy. She even says it. In fact, unless something strange is happening around her life, we hardly hear about her. And she just knows when to strike and who to bite for that matter. She jumped into Willy Paul’s affairs as he sprung to fame and rode on that publicity to make a name for herself.

Willy Paul and many of his friends in the gospel world accused her of trying to spoil the gospel artiste’s name. People also hated on her after she claimed she was an item with Davido and later Diamond.

If it is not the nude pictures making people hate on her, it is her don’t care comments on interviews that paparazzi like to do on her. And yes, the world might hate Pendo, but the media likes her. She is always a good subject to sell.

Willy Paul

The artiste has just cleared his high school education, doing exams while posting messages on his Facebook page; or it was just another gimmick from a rising gospel artiste who has courted controversy since he did Sitolia with Gloria Muliro and cried all the way to nearly every media house. Willy Paul seems to have controversy chasing him everywhere. However, it is for the fact that he is a gospel artiste that many people end up condemning him for some of his actions. He is said to have dated Pendo before hooking up with a white girl who is always on his side. And a number of girls have claimed to have dated him, that putting his Christian faith and morals into question. The more controversial he gets, the more relevant he seems to grow.

Moustapha

With barely any hit song this year, Colonel Moustapha has throughout the year made himself relevant through rather awkward moment one of the most controversial celebrities in 2013.

Prior to the release of his song Lenga Stress the Ogopa Deejays star opted to post a suggestive semi-nude photos of him with a girl who appeared leaning on the singer.

In an earlier interview with Pulse Moustapha revealed that he had been called by the girl’s mother who threatened to take legal action against him. She accused him of abusing her daughter by posing her as a sex object. This would closely be followed by yet another controversy. He claimed that a group of gay men had tried to solicit sex from him.

Recently, the singer also appeared on the Tujuane television show seeking love. The Kupe singer recently claimed that he made Myra his former girlfriend popular and that whoever is dating her should appreciate him for that; like he should be paid for that...

Ephy Saint

Actor Ephy Muriithi aka Ephy Saint has lately been a magnet for controversy. Being a model as well, he has been the talk of the town with his private life endeavours. He started by claiming to be son to Nigeria’s celebrated actor Edochie, before hitting the controversy  trail with some semi-nude and bold photos akin to those exploited on international fashion and couture magazines. Such stunts, though not popular in the Kenyan scene, have made him the eye candy to many a female fan.

Kismat

Popularly known for penning controversial and somewhat lewd songs, the tattooed head Kismat is indeed one of the most controversial artistes.

His explicit lyrical content has made him a media outcast with most of the stations banning most of his explicit songs; while he has accused some of the top notch deejay like Joe Mfalme of not playing his songs. One of his recent controversial songs is titled Kung’uta Miwa.

Size 8

She might not qualify as a drama queen but the dramatic changes that took place both in her public and private life this year left tongues wagging.

She shocked the world when she got saved and ditched her successful secular music career for gospel. That was late last year. Thereafter, she was rumoured to be dating DJ Mo, one of the key people who helped her in seeing the light. She denied this whilst battling the fasting challenges that came along her spiritual journey. Few months down the line and in a twist of events, she confessed that she tied the knot with the DJ Mo. Such news received mixed reactions from the fans, subsequently causing others to adjudge her as being pregnant. Again and as expected, she vehemently denied these claims and only time will tell.