The Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) is tasked to regulate the creation, broadcasting, possession, distribution, and exhibition of film and broadcast media with the aim of promoting culture.
The body is a known entity in the state, partly thanks to its vocal CEO Ezekiel Mutua who always at the forefront of matters that are remotely immoral. We have seen Dr. Mutua advocate for family-friendly content for our TVs – and the KFCB has gone as far as reaching out to YouTube to pull down videos that corrupt our morals.
KFCB’s recent announcement takes a similar route after it reportedly received letters of complaint from the public regarding SautiSol’s hit Suzzana.
According to a letter published in the dailies, ‘Senje is a Luhya for aunt – the sister of your father. How can it be that the nephew and his aunt have a relationship? To fall in love with your father’s sister is unheard of, incestuous, an abomination, and illegal.’
The main reason here is that the song is promoting incest, which is against the law in many cultures across the globe.
To this end, KFCB examined the song’s lyrics, to which it had this to say:
Further, the song’s lyrics are also not a contravention of the Board’s classification guidelines. The Board’s Broadcast Monitoring team has analyzed the song and given it a clean bill of health on grounds that it has no classifiable elements and is therefore rated GE (General Exhibition), meaning that it is suitable for viewers of all ages.
This is not the first time the song has received some form of backlash from people who think the song is shaming women for how they choose to lead their lives.
Other artists such as the sensational Ethic have been at the receiving end of KFCB following the release and publication of songs with explicit lyrics.
