Wanjiku Mburu, also known as Mama Baha, has finally revealed why Royal Media Services (RMS) is allegedly not paying Machachari stars and other people who starred in various popular programs in Kenya, which helped define the film industry in the country.
When asked if the allegations against RMS were true, Wanjiku agreed and offered an explanation as to why the company is not paying them, despite airing reruns of their programs.
"Well without beating around the bush, what you heard is true and you know there is something that you sign called a contract. The program is not ours, it's theirs and it is unfortunate that we didn't sign the royalties contract at the time.
"So there is nothing much we can do. We have to accept the outcome because the company can do whatever they want to do with it. It's been like 10 years and things have changed over that period. When given a contract, ask questions about it and also look for finer details in the contract and no one is at fault, it's just it was not our time. That's all," Wanjiku explained.
Wanjiku's explanation has clarified the details of the entire scenario that occurred several months after Dennis Mugo, also known as OJ, called out Citizen TV for airing reruns of Tahidi High without paying the actors.
OJ was taken aback when someone approached him and mentioned that they had seen him on television on Sunday.
Wanjiku's message to government of Kenya
Wanjiku expressed her view on the measures that the government could take to enhance the creative industry, stating that the government should have a deeper comprehension of the needs of the artists and assume some management responsibilities on their behalf.
"I would like to tell the government to understand their product and the artists. Artists are free-spirited people. I think you see what happens in Hollywood, people have their managers.
"The artist's work is to create Don't leave him/her to do these other things. That's how the government can empower artists. It should tell people to create then it manages their work and micro-manage because an artist can't think of other things. An artist's work is to entertain," Waniku added.
In her conclusion, she suggested that artists should focus on entertaining rather than worrying about investment decisions, as she expressed that building one's own character can be a challenging task.