As lines are drawn, where do influencers and artists land?

By Winnie Makena And Alfayo Onyango | 3yrs ago | 6 min read

There is an amplification of online protests by celebrities and social media influencers [Photo: Shutterstock/Instagram/Courtesy]

Blogger Edgar Obare was supposed to appear in court on 2 November 2020. He was accused of sharing confidential travel documents of YouTuber Natalie Wanjiru Githinji alias Natalie Tewa, back in July,2020. But Obare never showed. It later turned out that he had allegedly been abducted by police officers.

“Three men approached me and asked me my name. Then they quickly held me by my pants and took me to a waiting car,” narrated Obare. He recounts how he was handcuffed, blindfolded and ferried to an unknown location. The blogger says the law enforcers attempted unsuccessfully to get him to unlock his phone, denied him water and even drugged him. “They decided to strip me naked in the car, by tearing all my clothes to my boxers,” his statement read in part. He added that they took explicit pictures of him, naked while further humiliating him and asking him why he breaks families. They badgered him, wanting to know who pays him for the exposes he is notorious for. Obare was finally thrown out of the car in thorny bushes, and he discovered he was in Nyeri.

For many of his 284k Instagram followers, the news of Obare’s experience, feels like a cruel deja-vu. In July, when he was first arrested on the unlawful disclosure of personal data charge, the blogger who is called ‘Tea Master’, had been concerned about his safety, calling on his supporters to help him get back his freedom. “I am not safe and I don’t feel safe where am (sic) being held, I have struggled with getting bail, but now I understand why it’s being denied. Please support #freeedgarobare,” he tweeted on July 31. His recent plight brought attention to the hashtag #EndPoliceBrutalityinKenya that was beginning to fizzle out as rogue police officers continued to act with impunity.

Blogger Edgar Obare has accused the police of kidnapping and assaulting him. Photo: edgarobare/Instagram]

The amplification of online protests by celebrities and social media influencers usually bridges the information gap left by local news outlets, and by using their platforms, they start conversations on key issues. Apart from raising awareness about police brutality, celebrities with huge social media following provide a platform to pitch, improve or reject ideas.

Influencers and brands are now raising their voices denouncing police brutality in their countries. It rings true particularly in Nigeria where only recently citizens staged protests. Nigeria is Africa’s most populous nation with 200 million people, more than 60 per cent of whom are under the age of 24. It is the youth that took to the streets to protest against the despised police Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in a demonstration dubbed #Endsars.

Viewers from all over the world watched live on Instagram as protesters tried to remove a bullet lodged in the thigh of a protester with tweezers. They watched as men in army fatigues started to kettle protesters at the Lekki toll gate. Many photos shared on social media show some bodies were covered in bloodied Nigerian flags. As the death toll rose, so did the outpouring of support from celebrities and influencers in the country and outside. Brands that were mum on the issue were tagged on social media in a bid to shame them to take a stand.

Savara Mudigi, one-fourth of Kenya’s Sauti Sol was among the many that shared their harrowing experience in the hands of SARS. “Many of you might not know this, but I have had a personal experience with SARS,” read a statement he posted on Instagram. He narrated his near-death experience how he had travelled to Lagos, Nigeria to shoot the video for their song ‘Susanna’ and was heading to the club. Their vehicle was stopped by SARS and they had to alight and lie on the ground.

“Being foreigners, Mzwa and I heavily prayed for our lives. All I heard was the sound of guns being cocked,” he wrote, “I don’t know where I would be if it wasn’t for the few dollars I had in my pocket.” Human rights group Amnesty International said an investigation uncovered at least 56 people died across Nigeria, 38 of them on October 20 alone.

Artist activism

Art has a long history with activist movements, grabbing attention while still sending a message that resonates with society. Fifteen days of demonstrations, music industry boycotts through the #BlackOutTuesday campaign to protest the death of George Floyd set the pace for artistes to lend their voice to activism.

Visual artistes in Kenya have salvaged the moment and showcased viral works that capture the tyrannical police ways with their works finding space on the internet, hence the works being shared widely across social networks. Murals such as Allan Mwangi’s (Bankslave) in Kibera are receiving worldwide acclaim, while digital artists such as Magati Maosa, Akiba Haiozi, and Rosen Ian are some of the Nairobi digital artists whose work is getting wider recognition than usual stemming from this period. Media personality Anne Mwaura painted a canvas with her words revealing police are programmed to be villains.

“Police have been conditioned to be bad. They don’t get the mental health they need, conversations, avenues, health insurance or pay that they need. As a radio presenter, I have more rights than someone who is protecting me, do you think they will want to protect me?” she posed. The mavericks spearheading the artist activism in Kenya, do so by evoking emotionally powerful stimuli. “It is time for the voice of Kenyans to be heard louder. Unfortunately, we cannot seek justice from the police who are out there to fend for themselves,” visual artist Magati Maosa shared. Magati’s Instagram feed is a museum of Afro-futuristic visual antiques. His outer world idealism is unique and tells Kenyan stories through the lens of a young millennial trying to survive Nairobi streets with outer world curiosity.

One of Magati's pieces [Photo: Instagram @magatimaosa]

“My heart aches for all my brothers and sisters. It’s heartbreaking to see our own faced by oppression and suffering in the hands of the government. We have been hurting for a long time and we need to protect each other and show up for each other,” digital artist Akiba Haiozi reveals. His art pieces are vibrant, graphic, poppy and psychedelic and are being touted as visual escapism and revered among peers and international media.

These two artists, Magati and Akiba sympathise with the situation and have been brutalised and victimised, stereotyped and attacked by the law enforcers in Kenya as young millennials in business and urban Nairobi areas. “You can feel the weight of year of oppression and abuse in the hands of our police and justice systems. Patterns are the true teller of truth. Why are our leaders so silent about the rampant brutality? Why are they complicit in the brutalizing and killing of the people they are supposed to be serving and protecting?” Akiba questions. “Being considered less human, being beaten up, and silenced by someone who considers themselves a leader just for them to ‘show off’ was not how I would ever have imagined seeing and meeting the police for the first time. What would happen if I were to report a case?”