Itumbi’s speech disrupted by ‘Wantam’ chants at KK Mwenyewe’s burial

The burial of popular comedian KK Mwenyewe in Lari, Kiambu, turned dramatic after the Head of Presidential Special Projects and Creative Economy, Dennis Itumbi, was forced to cut short parts of his speech due to loud ‘Wantam’ chants from the crowd.

The foggy weather set a sombre tone as hundreds of mourners, including content creators and fans, gathered to pay their last respects to the comedian who rose to fame with his comic imitations of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.

Itumbi, who had come to honour the fallen entertainer, began his tribute by celebrating KK’s enduring digital legacy, noting that his content would continue to bring laughter even after his passing.

He told mourners that the government was working to address challenges faced by digital creators, particularly around monetisation.

He stated that platforms such as Facebook had already agreed to pay local content creators since the current administration took over.

“Long after KK’s death, it is comforting to know that we will still have his content to make us laugh and keep us alive. I have come here to say goodbye to a guy who held us together, and that is why I am present.

“All these issues that content creators have mentioned here about what the government should do for the content creation space are the very things I have been championing. The first major challenge that content creators face, and how they will earn from the content they create, is monetisation,” Itumbi said.

However, tension began to brew when he mentioned monetisation, with one attendee shouting a loud ‘Wantam’ remark that quickly sparked similar chants from the crowd.

The chanting disrupted his speech, with one voice near the microphone even calling out, “Unatudanganya buana,” accusing Itumbi of misleading content creators.

Responding to the chants, Itumbi insisted that content creation was a lifelong profession.

He insisted that he believed the ‘Wantam’ chants were not coming from the crowd of content creators but from other attendees, yet it quickly became clear that this was not the case.

“I do not think these content creators are here for Wantam nonsense. Content creation is a lifetime commitment,” he said.

His response, however, triggered an even louder chorus of jeers and chants of “uongo, uongo”, leaving him visibly stunned.

In a bid to regain control of the situation, Itumbi shifted his tone and promised that creators whose Facebook accounts had not yet been monetised would be assisted through the President Creatives email platform.

He also announced that popular creator Kabugi would lead an initiative to form a Sacco that would allow the government to offer structured support to digital talents.

Despite his attempts to pacify the crowd, murmurs and jeers continued, forcing the master of ceremonies to plead with attendees to calm down and let him finish his speech.

“Sawa hiyo ni sawa. Sasa jambo la mwisho,” Itumbi said as mourners broke into jeers while others laughed at the sudden change of events.

“Naomba tafadhali, tafadhali tusikilizane. Si pia tumepea hawa wengine nafasi waongee,” the MC said as he tried to calm the crowd.

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