Tusker Project Fame principle Hellen Mtawali, celebrities pay a heavy price for being in the spotlight. At times the cost may be in terms of money, but other times it may go beyond conventional “payments”. NATION
Being in the spotlight comes with a price. At times the cost may be in terms of money, but other times it may go beyond conventional “payments”.
Singer Kenzo Matata, who has been in music for over five years, has had a lot of run-ins with men who think he is dating their girlfriends.
Though he reckons that female fans are usually friendly, the problem is when their male lovers suspect he is having affairs with them.
when she tied the knot with 25-year-old stone mason Peter Mbugua in 2003.
The controversial marriage lasted eight years and ended when Mrs Otieno died in August 2011.
Young, jobless men, seeking good life without sweating for it are hunting for old, rich women, with some advertising their services openly.
Ms Mtawali says some of these gold-diggers have crafted harmless, but very dirty means of getting to her attention. One such stalker has been on her neck for over four years now.
“He is my friend on Facebook. We would chat as he gave many nice comments about my music, then he started to get suggestive. I went on to block him. He did not give up,” she explains.
Another man stalked her on another social media site, hunted down for her personal information and even traced her to Daystar where she works.
Beg for money
There are other ill-mannered fans who beg for money any time they meet celebrities. Again, Ms Mtawali says men are the main culprits.
“One begged me to pay for his air ticket to the Coast, promising to refund me. I even booked him in a hotel, catered for all his expenses on that trip. But I realised that he wanted to test my generosity, and was even hoping that I would be generous with my body too,” she says.
The next day, the amorous fan realised that his desires would not be fulfilled, and got angry; confronting the celebrity.
“He asked me why I did not have any desire to sleep with him. He even stormed my hotel room, only to find that I had travelled with my Afrizo Band members. He was too embarrassed and I have never heard from him since,” she says.
Singer Geraldine Oduor, who sings mostly in Dholuo, has also had her share of pain with misbehaving fans.
The artiste, who did her latest song Napenda in collaboration with Tanzanian gospel star Christina Shusho, says she deals with fans depending on their motives.
“Some fans may walk up to me and borrow money. If I have it, then I can share. Others may even spot me in public transport, and they ask that I bail them out by paying their bus fare. These are situations that can leave a person embarrassed but as a public figure, I have learnt never to take things personally,” she says.
Like Matata, Ms Oduor has also had rough encounters with women who accuse her of having sexual relationships with their men — her fans.
Such women have called and issued threats to her, asking the singer to stop ‘dating’ their husbands.
“Some of them send absolutely ridiculous messages, but I take it lightly; not making them personal or else I may lose focus,” she says.
Stalking is almost the second nature of some international celebrities, with crazed fans and scoop-hungry journalists giving them hell.
The problem is so serious in the US that the government set aside the month of January as the National Stalking Awareness Month.
It is not just Ms Mtawali who has had to ward off sex-hungry male fans.
Leonardo Di Caprio, star actor in Titanic, was stalked by Livia Bistriceanu who believed that the star was the father of Jesus.
She would go on about how she is married to Leo, and is carrying their child.
Another screen queen Halle Berry was stalked by a fan who swore to slit her throat.
This caused such a scare to the star that she thought of shifting base to France. This homeless man from the California rose to infamy in the 1990s for threatening another celebrity, Madonna.
Sports celebrity Shaun Gayle who played for Chicago Bears Football side has perhaps gone through the worst of stalking horrors.
In 2007, his seven-month pregnant girlfriend was brutally murdered right at her doorstep by a female stalker, Marni Yang, who shot her four times in the abdomen, killing the unborn baby.
The attacker shot her two times in the head to end her life and relationship with the star NFL player. Yang was a former lover of the football player.
Mark Chapman is another stalker who eventually murdered his subject, John Lennon. His plans to kill the star began when he saw Lennon on the cover of Beatles magazine.
Kim Kardashian, the reality TV star with thousands of followers, has had numerous dramatic turns. Her stalker began making contact with her on Twitter, and then moved to her hometown of Calabasas, California.
He began to follow her to her public appearances, wearing joker face paint. The man believed he was dating Kim. She was later granted a restraining order against him. their motives.
“Some fans may walk up to me and borrow money. If I have it, then I can share. Others may even spot me in public transport, and they ask that I bail them out by paying their bus fare. These are situations that can leave a person embarrassed but as a public figure, I have learnt never to take things personally,” she says.
Like Matata, Ms Oduor has also had rough encounters with women who accuse her of having sexual relationships with their men — her fans.
Such women have called and issued threats to her, asking the singer to stop ‘dating’ their husbands.
“Some of them send absolutely ridiculous messages, but I take it lightly; not making them personal or else I may lose focus,” she says.
Stalking is almost the second nature of some international celebrities, with crazed fans and scoop-hungry journalists giving them hell.
The problem is so serious in the US that the government set aside the month of January as the National Stalking Awareness Month.
It is not just Ms Mtawali who has had to ward off sex-hungry male fans. Leonardo Di Caprio, star actor in Titanic, was stalked by Livia Bistriceanu who believed that the star was the father of Jesus.
She would go on about how she is married to Leo, and is carrying their child.
Another screen queen Halle Berry was stalked by a fan who swore to slit her throat.
This caused such a scare to the star that she thought of shifting base to France. This homeless man from the California rose to infamy in the 1990s for threatening another celebrity, Madonna.
Sports celebrity Shaun Gayle who played for Chicago Bears Football side has perhaps gone through the worst of stalking horrors.
In 2007, his seven-month pregnant girlfriend was brutally murdered right at her doorstep by a female stalker, Marni Yang, who shot her four times in the abdomen, killing the unborn baby.
The attacker shot her two times in the head to end her life and relationship with the star NFL player. Yang was a former lover of the football player.
Mark Chapman is another stalker who eventually murdered his subject, John Lennon. His plans to kill the star began when he saw Lennon on the cover of Beatles magazine.
Kim Kardashian, the reality TV star with thousands of followers, has had numerous dramatic turns.
Her stalker began making contact with her on Twitter, and then moved to her hometown of Calabasas, California.
He began to follow her to her public appearances, wearing joker face paint. The man believed he was dating Kim. She was later granted a restraining order against him.
Gospel musician: Am tired of fans asking me for sex and money
