Ben Pol and Anerlisa Muigai.
Tanzanian singer Ben Pol, ex-husband of internet sensation and Keroche heiress Anerlisa Muigai, has opened up about hitting rock bottom and going bankrupt at the height of his fame.
Despite dominating the airwaves and enjoying celebrity status across East Africa, the singer revealed that there was a time when he could not even afford the rent, forcing him to move back in with his parents and rebuild his life from scratch.
“2014 was one of the lowest moments in my life. I was already very famous, having broken into the limelight in 2010. Between 2010 and 2014, I won several music awards and released many hit songs,” Ben Pol recalls. But behind the fame, TV interviews, and public attention, his finances were quietly collapsing.
Bongo R-n-B star Ben Pol.
“Sometime in 2014, I realised I had not been booked for shows for a very long time. Before that, I had done many tours and performances and made good money. I was living well and had even bought my first car, a Toyota Wish worth Tsh15 million (Sh735,000). But suddenly, the bookings stopped,” he said.
At the time, streaming revenues and influencer deals had not yet become dependable income streams for artists, leaving many musicians heavily reliant on live performances and concert bookings.
“So I survived on the money I had previously made until my accounts eventually ran dry. For months, I was not getting shows despite my name being big and my constant appearances in media interviews. And I didn’t even have any scandal,” he adds.
As the situation worsened, debts piled up, and auctioneers repossessed his car. “It reached a point where I could not even afford Tsh3,000 (Sh150) for basic needs. That’s when I realised things were really bad. I packed my bags, went back to my parents’ home, and started all over again.”
While staying with his parents, the singer continued recording music while quietly plotting a comeback. One song, Sofia, eventually cracked the door back open.
“With Sofia doing well, I decided to organise my own shows. I reached out to Khadijah Kopa, Weusi, and legendary radio presenter B Dozen for support. None of them knew I was broke. They only asked me to handle their logistics,” he said.
The risk paid off handsomely. “I made Tsh15 million (Sh738,197) from gate collections. After that, promoters started booking me for countrywide tours again. By 2015, I was back on my feet with nonstop shows.”
His resurgence gathered even more momentum in 2016 after releasing Moyo Mashine and later collaborating with Darasa on the regional hit Muziki.
“From that experience, I promised myself I would never go broke again. That is why I diversified my income streams and stopped depending entirely on music,” he said.
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