Manzi wa Kibera’s involvement with Isaac Otesa has stirred considerable controversy. After gaining attention online, Otesa was invited to Nairobi with the promise of appearing on Citizen TV. Speaking in an interview with IkuweIkuwe, he explained, “I left my wife just one week after her surgery because I was told I was going to Nairobi for a Citizen TV interview.”
Upon his arrival in Nairobi with his manager, Otesa was taken to Manzi wa Kibera’s house in Kabiria where he spent the night. The next day, he was moved to a different residence, but the conditions were less than ideal. Otesa recounted, “We were sleeping three people—another man, a woman, and I—in one bed. We were all squeezed together.”
He described being shuttled around the city for various interviews with the assurance of a final one with Citizen TV, which never materialized. Otesa also mentioned a visit to a shop where Manzi wa Kibera bought him sneakers, promising more pairs, but he never received them. “They said only three pairs were left, but I never got any,” he lamented.
The following day, he was taken to get suit measurements, but the promised outfits never arrived. “I did four interviews that day, and the interviewers promised to send me money, but it never came,” he said.
Frustrated and disheartened, Otesa decided to leave his manager and the woman he was staying with and moved in with his in-laws. He revealed that he was also pressured into activities against his will. “A content creator asked me to carry a woman and hold her while taking pictures to get more likes and trend online. I hadn’t done anything like that before and found it unpleasant. I realized that staying there meant I had to comply with anything asked of me, as I didn’t know what could happen. I just had to endure,” he shared.
As a result, Otesa struggled to support himself and his family back home using only the occasional handouts from fans.
