Senator Sakaja responds to DJs over arrests

Entertainers are calling upon the government to step in and investigate the recent and repeated arrest of DJs by a team that claims to be The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) for allegedly causing noise pollution. In the trending #StopArrestingtheDJs, many have explained the horrific experiences they go through during weekends as they are arrested and asked to pay hefty bribes failure to which they spend the rest of the weekend in the cells.

Following a Facebook post by Vdj Quit to President Uhuru Kenyatta, many other DJs surfaced and told their experiences on social media, evoking the hashtag.

“Every weekend, DJ’s from all over NAIROBI are arrested while trying to make a living and put food on their tables the way they best know how and for the next hour, they were driven around in the back of a city council pickup like Thugs and hooligans to various other pubs arresting other Djs.

The team arresting operate under NEMA, (a claim which NEMA officials heavily deny) and that they were making arrests for sound pollution in the clubs. However, they leave the club owners and arrest the vulnerable young Djs. The Djs are then blackmailed and extorted for amounts ranging between 30k-200k, failure to which, they will end up sleeping in a cold hard cell for a few days with nothing booked in the OB. The good club owners will help get you out. The bad ones will switch off their phones. The operation is always led by the same individual who goes by the name, Mbaya.

We are now appealing to @sonko @sakaja @ (everyone else) to help this resolve this situation by sitting with our representatives to find a way forward. The average age of a dj is between 22-34 years old, the YOUTH, and they have chosen djing instead of CRIME and THUGGERY! We would like to find a way forward to ensure our YOUTH don’t end up back on the streets,’’ read the post that went viral.

The National Environment Management Authority

Other DJs shared their experiences as others joined in support;

 

Over the weekend, fellow DJs have been getting arrested. For doing what they love doing & making amazing nights for all the people out & about in Nairobi. Entertainment isn't a crime.
Playing music isn't a felony.
Keep the scene alive.
Allow the talent to grow.#StopArrestingDJs— THE ARKITEKT (@Dj_Amar_B) February 11, 2018

The average age of a dj is between 22-34 years old, the YOUTH, and they have chosen djing instead of CRIME and THUGGERY! We would like to find a way forward to ensure our YOUTH don’t end up back on the streets. #StopArrestingDjs

— DJ Bash (@DJBashKenya) February 11, 2018

The Djs are then blackmailed and extorted for amounts ranging between 30k-200k, failure to which, they will end up sleeping in a cold hard cell with nothing booked in the OB. The good club owners will help get you out. The bad ones will switch off their phones.#StopArrestingDjs— HYPNOTIQ (@djhypnotiqkenya) February 11, 2018

RT and share widely... This happened on Friday night. You can see the Dj’s gear being taken away by some govt officials accompanied by @PoliceKE who also arrest the Dj. #stoparrestingdjs cc @RealJaguarKenya @SakajaJohnson @MikeSonko @UKenyatta pic.twitter.com/aGs1Fn6Z0h— Dj Vin ???????? (@discjockeyvin) February 11, 2018

Nairobi County Senator Johson Sakaja said he has received the complaint and his office is looking at it.

Sorry about this. I've taken up this matter. Deejays are trying to eke out an honest living. If there's a problem with the establishment, arrest the owner not the deejay. I'm bringing together the relevant institutions including @NemaKenya to make sure they all #StopArrestingDjs— #S3 (@SakajaJohnson) February 11, 2018