Content creator Azziad Nasenya has claimed that members of the controversial Talanta Hela Council, of which she was a member, were never paid a single cent.
In February 2023, Ababu Namwamba, the then Youth Affairs, Arts and Sports Cabinet Secretary, appointed Azziad and other creatives to his ambitious Talanta Hela Council project.
The appointments, which also included veteran comedian Daniel 'Churchill' Ndambuki, actress Catherine Kamau, sports media personality Carol Radul, Jimmy Gathu and singer Wahu Kagwi, received a major backlash from Kenyans.
Cabinet Secretary for Youth Affairs, Sports and The Arts Ababu Namwamba. Inset is Daniel “Churchill” Ndambuki, Esther Akoth a.k.a Akothee, Azziad Nasenya and Jimmy Gathu who were all appointed to the Talanta Hela Council.
Photo credit: Nation Media Group
The appointments were so dissatisfying to many that Charles Mugane, a Kenyan, challenged their legality in the High Court. He stated that there had been no selection process to show how the eleven appointees were chosen from the eight million Kenyans on the TikTok platform.
The council comprised two technical committees, one for sports and one for creativity, and was to serve for a period of three years, with the CS himself as Chairman.
However, following sustained criticism, Namwamba revoked the appointments in June 2023, just five months later.
“We were never paid. We never got even a penny as members of the Talanta Hela Council and its associated Technical Committee. We actually never got to do anything following the appointments. We had like two, three meetings, and before you know it, everybody was mad about the appoitments and before you know it, the whole project has been shut down for whatever reasons.” Azziad says.
The content creator, who has had turbulent times in recent years, maintains that the claim that members walked away with hundreds of thousands of shillings is far-fetched.
“We really never got to a point where we actually did anything meaningful as a Committee. But then you hear people say we got paid. We got nothing, not even a penny. Actually, we all used our own money for the meetings and everything else we did during that period, with the promise that we would be refunded, but nothing ever came,” she adds.
Internet sensation Azziad Nasenya.
Photo credit: Pool
Azziad went further to defend the initiative and her appointment, stating that she merited it.
“People get mad when someone is appointed to such positions, but I have been working to build a brand. By then, (time of appointment), I had done so well for myself, I had built a brand for myself, so I understood our creative space from a Gen Z perspective, but somehow, some felt I didn't deserve to be in the panel.” Azziad carries on.
Had the council been allowed to work, Azziad believes they would have made a huge impact on the creative sector.
“I still believe the program was a noble course. It was the first step into setting up something like a union for the creative industry that would champion our welfare, but also represent us because we do not have representation. If you look at the panel, we had Churchill, Akothee, basically creatives across different generations,” she says.
In the few meetings the committee held, Azziad says the discussions were very constructive had the course not been killed.
“In the few meetings we had, the discussion centered around looking for opportunities for our industry and just how we can make it easier for creatives, what challenges we have, how we can solve them, and what creative institutions we can create. In a nutsehll we were trying to see how to professionalize content creation as a job and give opportunities to people.”
