Lisa Mugo
Musical sensation Diamond Platnumz has revealed that neither him nor his Wasafi artists are able to leave Tanzania freely.
The 32-year-old Bongo artiste revealed on Wasafi FM that he always gets arrested at the airport whenever he is about to fly out of the country even when he wants to go visit his children in South Africa.
“I think it’s only artists signed to Wasafi who are never allowed to leave the country without the government’s approval. Anytime I get to the airport, I’m always arrested and stopped from boarding. I don’t know why they keep doing this to me,” he said.
He also added that he does not understand why it keeps happening to him and that whenever he asks them for a reason,they always urge him to get a permit from the government which costs $20.
However, Tanzania’s National Arts Council (BASATA) has refuted his claims stating that it is a standard requirement for all Tanzanian artistes who are travelling abroad. It added that they did not target Diamond and all the other Wasafi Records artistes alone.
“The law is very clear to every artist whenever one wants to travel outside the country for any art related gig. They have to obtain a permit from BASATA where one has to pay Tsh50,000,” said BASATA’s interim CEO Matiko Muniko.
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