By a uhondonews.com writer.
If you have been online the last few days, you’ve most probably come across the name “Barak Jacuzzi” in various corners of the interwebs. “Who is this guy?”, you might ask… Well, I’m here to break it all down for you.
Jacuzzi is a Kenyan-American entertainer who moved to Nairobi from Columbia, South Carolina in the US a few years ago. Having grown up in the States, the rapper decided to move to Africa and be part of the entertainment scene that was quickly growing and expanding; and where else to set camp if not home?
When he got to Kenya, Jacuzzi took his baby steps in the industry under the wings of renowned rapper Henry Ohanga, popularly known by his stage name “Octopizzo”, as his hype man.
While speaking to a local media house, he described this moment as one that greatly helped shape his career.
“The experience of being Octopizzo’s hype man set me up for the rest of my career. He was the first person to put me on a stage full of hundreds or thousands and really get what it feels like to be up there. I learned a lot about organising a set list, performing without playback, musical consistency and so much more you could say overall it was a crash course to Rap 101. I was always an incredible performer but my years as his hype man gave me the hands-on experience to be even better.”
For the last few months, his career has been steadily moving forward and now, the man who boldly came into the country in search of greener pastures risks losing it all before he’s even won it. Why, you ask? Cancel culture. They want to kill another one of our young kings.
As you read this, a video of the NRG Radio presenter and his ex-girlfriend “Kairetu” is currently doing rounds on social media where she is heard shouting at Jacuzzi for snobbing her at the Hype XP concert in Ngong Road last Saturday yet she’s been “pregnant for him three times”.
Kairetu x Barak Jacuzzi #KOTLoyal pic.twitter.com/o5kWxaaQxs
— Boombuzz Kenya (@BoombuzzKE) September 8, 2019
As expected, comments started trickling in. What baffled me, however, is how sexually-frustrated and attention-deprived faux Kenyan feminists managed to twist the narrative and made it look like it was Jacuzzi’s fault that a strong, independent woman who “owns and controls her own body” decided to risk her own life thrice.
Within minutes, the songster had been officially trialed and “cancelled” for publicly “embarassing” his ex-girlfriend during the backstage drama at the event. According to the online jury, Jacuzzi now trash for the sole mistake of having let out his gentleman’s relish inside her three times.
But that’s not the reason for this post.
Yesterday, a lady by the name Daisy Oriri took to her Twitter account and made a damning allegation against the hitmaker. She claimed she was seated across when she witnessed him sexually harrass a female reveler at the Konshens concert on Saturday night.
The alleged victim, had earlier made the tweet below saying she had made a “conscious decision” to expose an “abuser”.
Soon enough, others joined in and all castigated the young man. All this time, not a single piece of proof provided; no videos, no photos, no audio of them confronting him, nothing. Just a tweet from a random woman claiming that you touched her friend’s boobs and that’s it, you are officially a rapist.
Her friends, again as expected, flooded the replies section. Congratulating her for her supposed “bravery” in bringing a man down through sheer deceit.
Now what next for Jacuzzi? He’ll probably be subjected to a week’s long of rebuke and his employer most likely be contacted and informed of his “misconduct”. All this backed by nothing but tweets from a victim hiding under a psuedo account and a witness who didn’t even bother recording the confrontation.
That is how things happen these days. As long as it comes from a woman, it’s true and you are guilty. What they are doing to Jacuzzi is the same thing they did to our boy Tony Mochama alias Smitta.
One sunny September weekend day in 2014, the then Pulse columnist went for a poetry afternoon meeting at a house in Spring Valley, Nairobi, that would change his life.
The house belonged to Professor Wambui Mwangi, who wasn’t present for the meeting of 12 poets (including Kwame Dawes, the prominent African-American poet).
Local poet Clifton Gachagua had extended the e-mail invite, and asked Smitta to come with drinks (but not mayengs).
Tony arrived in the company of liberal arts enthusiast and renowned human rights activist Wanjeri Nderu-Musembi at about 2pm, the plan being to do the meeting then proceed to the Storymoja Lit Fest at the National Museum where Tony was on a presentation panel.
When the meeting ended at 3pm, a picture of the group (including a smiling Shailja Patel) was taken. Patel then started to market a copy of her book of poetry to the gathered poets.
Shailja then is said to have yelled at Tony not to hug her, shrieking “back off, I’ve been hugged enough for today,” and a bemused Tony laughed and shook his head.
Come the following Monday and Tony was shocked to find that the house owner, Wambui, was waging a bitter smear campaign on Twitter, targeting his employer, literary sponsors like Michaela Wrong, publishers, PEN International, Binyavanga’s Kwani Trust and even fans of his Pulse column, with Wambui tweeting: “When you smile at him (Smitta), do you know you are idolising a sexual molester?”
Apparently, the evening after the poetry meeting, Wambui had been told by Shailja Patel that Tony Mochama had sexually assaulted her, hence the Tweet that was re-tweeted thousands of times.
Smitta was referred to as ‘alleged rapist’ in The Star newspaper and on TV when his accusers went on Larry Madowo’s The Trend at the time.
That’s how his career had been damaged, and reputation forever ruined, until recently when Lady Magistrate A M Obura awarded Ksh. 8 million both as vindication of his innocence to the public, and a ‘fair and reasonable consolation for the wrong done.’
The defendants were slapped with a Ksh. 1 million exemplary and punitive damages, and ordered to pay the cost of the suit to Smitta’s lawyer.
That’s how poisonous “cancel culture” has become. It has allowed jealous, vile women filled with bile to bring down unsuspecting innocent men — most of them young and just about to hit the prime of their careers.
These days, ladies have made it a habit to falsely accuse their former partners of sexual harassment after break-ups. It’s like the rubber-stamp to a real “separation”. The saddest part is that so many of them are getting away with it.
Young men across the country have lost their only sources of income thanks to these envious creatures who can’t stand a young successful man.
“Cancel culture” is the real trash. Let’s kill it before it kills our gentlemen.
