Sanaipei Tande opens up on promoters demanding sexual favours for shows

Musician and actress Sanaipei Tande has sought to shed light on a presumably dark side of the Kenyan entertainment industry.

The musician, speaking during an interview on Spice FM, revealed that she has come across promoters who demanded sexual favors in exchange for giving her shows.

The singer-songwriter admitted that she has lost several shows in the past after finding herself in such predicaments.

“I’ve lost shows because a promoter tells you he wants you to go to Naivasha to perform and we agree and there’s M-Pesa so you can send me my deposit but they want it to be a thing for why don’t we meet…have a drink, we’ll be in Nairobi this weekend, somebody is texting you at 12pm (that) we can do something,” she said.

The ‘Kina’ actress added that she has been told stories by many women in the Kenyan entertainment industry who have suffered a similar fate.

“There’s casualness in the industry that I could not deal with. A lot of girls would tell me, if you want a DJ to play your song you have to do a little something with him. A producer tells you he can produce a song for you for free lakini kuna vile,” she said.

Sanaipei also talked about the financial constraints that artistes have faced since her time in the industry, a challenge that many are still facing today.

“Somebody would want you to perform for like an hour and they want to give you Ksh.40,000. I probably must get dancers, a band…unfortunately, when you push for more money they decide to go with somebody cheaper,” said the ‘Mdaka Mdakiwa’ singer.

Sanaipei further added that the entertainment industry should strive to push for more quality content because the content is readily available.

“We have quality in this country, I recently did the Remembering Whitney concert…I was in shock, the ladies who were called, not known names or brands but they have beautiful voices and beautiful stage presence…they should be in the forefront but they say they are not interested because we support mediocrity,” she said.