Diamond: Why I didn't perform at Furaha Festival

Screengrab of celebrated Tanzanian singer Diamond Platnumz

Tanzanian Bongo star Diamond Platnumz has given his side of the story regarding events that led to him not performing at the Furaha City Festival held last Saturday.

The event at the Nairobi Polo Club Grounds witnessed what the event organisers described as a minor security issue involving another artist, leading to Diamond being a no-show on the stage.

The organisers said in a statement the minor security issue was swiftly resolved and the event continued safely and professionally.

"We deeply regret to announce that Diamond Platnumz did not perform at the Furaha City Festival as scheduled. As organizers, we made every effort to accommodate him and his team, ensuring that all plans and contingencies were in place for a seamless experience.

"Despite our best efforts, his team behaviour and demands proved regrettable and unnecessarily overbearing,” the organisers said.

But in a video message to his fans, Diamond explained that unending chaotic scenes at the event and a prolonged wait for him to perform made him leave without performing.

The Bongo star said he was kept waiting for over three hours, and as late as 3am, he was yet to be called on stage by the organisers.

"And we asked him, ‘how did you organise your event? We said there’s a lot of chaos, and because it’s almost dawn, an artiste cannot perform,” he said.

Fans will already be tired, and they will think an artist came late, but in reality I was here on time. Many will feel he’s treating them with contempt.”

“So I think the organizer couldn’t solve it so my manager took me back to the hotel. It hurts, but what could I have done?” Diamond said, adding that he was psyched to perform during the festival.

Diamond said the following day, he woke up to accusations that he left without performing because he was annoyed by the fact that a Kenyan artist was allowed to perform ahead of him yet he was the headline act.

He said the false reports at first disappointed him, then amused him.

"When you are the headliner, it means other artists will perform first, then you will close the show, but even then you can’t close the show at 4am or 6am when fans are already tired and yawning,” he said.

As the headline act, Diamond said he knew other artists would obviously perform before him and such, claims that he demanded to perform first are ridiculous.

"How do I prevent anyone when I personally never got a chance to perform and left?” he posed.

If anything, Diamond said he had already been paid the agreed sum of $150,000, and it was upon the organiser to ensure he gets returns on investment by ensuring he performs.

"I cannot come to an event and force to perform, you have already paid me, I will wait until you are ready and if that comes when it’s my time to leave, I leave, and there won’t be a refund because it’s you who has breached the contract.

"Why on earth would I hate on the other artists and stop them from performing before me? I would be stupid to do that,” Diamond said.

Diamond said whoever created the narrative was looking for publicity, which he personally considers unreasonable.

“Maybe he saw it as a golden chance, saying I prevented him from performing, but I wasn’t on the stage, he was trying to interrupt other people’s performances and that’s why he was being prevented.

"There was Zuchu and Rayvanny but his focus was only on Diamond."

Diamond appeared to be referring to reports that claimed Kenya’s Willy Paul faced opposition before he went on the stage.

In a statement, Willy Paul said the event was marred by setbacks despite him having prepared tirelessly to deliver the best for his fans.

"My entry was delayed by over two hours; critical provisions agreed upon with the organizers were unavailable or insufficient, and my team, including dancers, faced harassment and mishandling by event security. Despite being a paid performer, my team and I endured unnecessary force and threats,” Willy Paul said.

The Sitolia hitmaker said despite the challenges, his fans' love made the performance worthwhile.

"To my fans, thank you for standing with me. I remain committed to delivering exceptional performances and advocating for better standards for Kenyan and East African artists,” Willy Paul said.

In their statement, the event organisers said they believe in treating all artists equally and maintaining high-quality standards for everyone involved.

They said despite the challenges, they are incredibly proud of the remarkable performances delivered by all the artists who performed.

"Kenyan artists outdid themselves, and we are proud. Their impeccable talent, energy, and professionalism were evident throughout the festival… We thank Rayvanny and Wasafi's Zuchu for their performance as well,” they said.

The team added: "We respect Diamond Platnumz's position as a top-tier artist, but we also expect mutual professionalism and respect in such collaborations. Moving forward, we are committed to resolving these matters amicably and learning from this experience to ensure even greater success for future editions of the Furaha City Festival.”