On March 22, a music video of Lawrence Njuguna, also known as DJ Fatxo, featuring the late Jeff Mwathi went viral on TikTok. The clip, shared by Mururi TV, showed photos of Mwathi when he was alive, along with photos of his grieving mother during his funeral, as the benga musician sang in the background.
However, it was later discovered that the clip was a doctored version of the original music video released by DJ Fatxo on his YouTube page. The song, titled “Nindetikira,” was released on August 13, 2021, after the death of DJ Fatxo’s grandmother. The manipulated clip used the part between minutes 2.50 and 3.30 of the original video.
According to reports by Kenyans.co.ke, the audio of the song remained unchanged, but the photos were added on top of the existing video to create an impression that the song was about the deceased.
Japheth Kaimenyi, a specialist videographer, confirmed that the technique used in the doctored clip was known as image overlaying, which is a basic function available on video-editing software such as Adobe Premier Pro.
Despite the manipulated visuals, the lyrics of the song depicted a dejected DJ Fatxo mourning the loss of someone very close to him. He sang about his regrets and how he wished he could have prevented the death of his loved one.
The delay in investigations into Mwathi’s death has caused Members of Parliament from Kiambu County to protest. They demanded the arrest of six individuals who were last seen with the 22-year-old and criticized those who have been trying to manipulate public opinion online about the case.
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