Why Diamond won’t give back the Sh19 million he was charged for his failed Furaha show

The US $150,000 (Sh19.3 million) that Diamond Platnumz was given to play at the disastrous Furaha event in Nairobi last Saturday will not be returned to the organizers.

The Nairobi Polo Club hosted a concert with the Bongo Flava phenomenon as the main act. They were the only artist that night to not perform even though they were paid in full.

Diamond lays the responsibility firmly on the event organizers for their carelessness, which prevented him from performing, in a video he posted while in Paris detailing what happened.

The artist claims that he fulfilled all of the terms of the agreement between his management and the Furaha Fest organizers, but they failed to deliver on their end of the bargain.

“As an artist, I hold my profession in the highest regard. Many made-up excuses have been offered for why I didn’t play for my supporters at the Nairobi Polo Club. To correct the record, as required by the contract, I came as the headliner one day early (Friday) before the event. In the almost ten-minute video clip, Diamond explains, “I got to the venue on time the day of the concert, right as Khaligraph Jones was finishing up his set, and I was waiting for my turn to go on stage.”

He claims that there was already a disturbance going on when he got there.

At the heart of the controversy was Kenyan musician Willy Paul, who claimed that the organizers were attempting to prevent him from singing and that Diamond should take the stage first.

As I observed the chaos, I made the decision to remain in the car. I was in danger due of the scenario, so my manager phoned the promoter and requested him to clean up his property. Diamond went on, “The promoter requested ten minutes to handle the situation, but it took a long time.”

The artist claims that he had to wait three hours to take the stage, and it was already too late when the organizers managed to assemble their home.

I spent three hours there. “Ideally, an artist should have to wait no more than an hour after arriving at the venue before taking the stage to perform. It was almost three in the morning when everything finally began to calm down. Based on the circumstances, I would go on stage at daybreak if I were going to do so. After waiting for me to take the stage for so many hours, everybody would have been worn out,” he regrets.

Therefore, Diamond’s decision to terminate the performance early the following morning was illogical.

“There is an acceptable timeline for the artist to go on stage, but not before daybreak, even if you are the headliner and get to be the last act. I hold the organizers accountable for letting my Kenyan followers down.
According to Diamond, who firmly blamed Willy Paul for the incident, his management decided to cancel his performance because of these factors.

“I had received full payment, so why would I not want to perform? I can’t come to battle to appear on stage after receiving $150,000 USD. I’ll arrive on time at the location and wait to be called up on stage by the organizer. He stated, “I’ll keep an eye on my watch, and if my performance time is up, I’ll leave the venue, pocketing your money and not giving you a refund.”

The singer maintained that he had fulfilled his half of the agreement and was prepared for the performance.

The organizers slept on the work, so I kept the money even though I made sure to complete every part of the deal. I’m not at fault; the promoters are solely responsible for their own actions,” Diamond said.

The Furaha Fest organizers released a long statement following the unsuccessful performance, blaming Diamond and his crew of making irrational demands.

A portion of the statement said, “Despite our best efforts, his team’s behavior and demands proved to be regrettable and unnecessarily overbearing.”