The Digital Content Creators Association of Kenya (DCCAK) has come out to condemn Rigathi Gachagua, who called for the boycott of artistes who visited Deputy President Kithure Kindiki.
Gachagua called for the boycott of the artistes during a church service in Murang’a on Sunday, May 25, 2025, and this has forced the digital content creators, through their umbrella body, DCCAK, to call out the former Mathira Member of Parliament.
“We are deeply disturbed by remarks made today by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who, from the altar of a church, openly called for the boycott of Kenyan artists and the silencing of their voices unless they sing in his praise. These statements are not only regressive – they are a direct affront to the constitutional freedoms of expression, creativity, and enterprise.
“It is profoundly unfortunate that at a time when Kenya is working to dismantle barriers that have long denied our artists their rightful income, a former Deputy President would threaten private entertainment businesses with commercial consequences unless they deny artists the right to earn a living. Such pronouncements reek of dictatorship, intolerance, and a disturbing sense of entitlement to control thought and culture in Mt. Kenya and beyond,” DCCAK said in a statement signed by its chairman, Bob Ndolo.
DCCAK said that Gachagua should understand that the artistes who visited Kindiki in Karen did so because they are allowed by the constitution.
“Art is not a weapon to be wielded by political interests. It is the mirror through which society sees itself—the laughter, the sorrow, the truth, and the dreams of a people. To reduce it to a mouthpiece of praise for any one man is to betray the very soul of the nation.
“We remind Mr. Gachagua and others with similar authoritarian fantasies that artistic freedoms are not privileges to be granted at will – they are constitutional rights protected under Articles 33 and 40 of the Constitution of Kenya. These freedoms are neither conditional nor negotiable,” it added.
DCCAK urged all artistes to continue composing boldly, speaking truth to power, uplifting communities through creativity, and educating the public on critical national programmes like the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), Housing, and the Hustler Fund that directly benefit citizens.
“To Rigathi Gachagua, we say this: Kenyan artists are not your subjects. They will not bow to your tune, nor will they seek your permission to speak. Their talent is God-given, not Gachagua-granted.
“Kenya is a democracy, not a dictatorship of one man’s ego,” it concluded.
