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Five times Ezekiel Mutua has annoyed Kenyans


Self-appointed ‘morality policeman’ Ezekiel Mutua, who heads the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB), is one man Kenyans love to hate for his perceived annoying public utterances and actions.

The latest of these came in the form of a Facebook post in which he bragged that he had no trouble getting a US visa to attend a global summit in California, his strong stand against homosexuality notwithstanding.

Here are five other occasions when Mr Mutua has found himself on the receiving end for his antics on social media.

1. Project X party – What had been dubbed as the biggest ‘sex party’ in town was never gonna escape the attention of Mr Mutua. Sure enough, being the moral high priest that he is, Mr Mutua would soon come wielding the big stick, effectively outlawing the would be party on the grounds that “videos featuring pornography and drug abuse were to be recorded at the scene.”

“We have leads that ‘Project X’ is organised by a syndicate of unscrupulous people, who have turned events of this nature into avenues of shooting pornographic films and extorting cash from their victims through blackmail,” Mr Mutua said at the time.

And with that pronounce ‘Project X’ was thus outlawed. It was never going to happen, not under Mr Mutua’s watch.

One of the posters of the would be Project X party.
One of the posters of the would be Project X party.

2. Same Love song – In February, 2016 announced that the board has banned the remix to the song Same Love by Kenyan band Art Attack. In his own words, the song “did not adhere to the morals of the country”. Mr Mutua further said that the producers of the video did not obtain a filming license as stipulated in the law and urged the public not to distribute the song that advocates for same sex and gay rights, highlights LGBT struggles and gender equality and pushes for civil liberties for all sexual orientations.

3. Rainbow speed dating – Four months after outlawing the ‘Project X’ party, in July the KFCB boss yet again outlawed a girl’s only speed dating party that was set to take place at an upmarket restaurant in Nairobi. In a statement, Mr Mutua, said the instructions on the party’s flier suggested that the attendees would be lesbians. According to Mr Mutua, the use of the phrase “Girls Only” further implied that the party would have been an orgy of lesbians, like in the case of the foiled ‘Project X’.

4. Coca Cola kissing advert – In April, multinational soft drink manufacturer, Coca Cola, found themselves on a collusion course with Mr Mutua over an advert that the KFCB boss said contained “offensive kissing scenes.” Following Mr Mutua’s directive, the “Taste the Feeling” advertisement, which featured a brief session where a man and women are seen in a compromising position, was consequently edited to remove the offensive scenes which he said violated family values.

Coca-Cola

5. Netflix beef – Much earlier in the year, Kenyans had welcomed good news that Netflix, a California-based firm that is known for streaming movies, would be streaming in Kenya. The good news did not last for long though. KFCB soon announced that Netflix was operating in Kenya illegally. According to the board, Netflix was a threat to Kenya’s national security due the kind of content it was streaming. The board further claimed that Netflix’s content was meant for audiences younger than 13 years yet they are full of violence, drugs and pornography, something that had the potential to radicalize children.