Kenyan artiste stuck in France after Passport hitch
Kenyan artiste Joseph Githenji, popularly known as G-rongi, has claimed he is stranded in France after the Kenyan Embassy there refused to renew his passport.
The rapper, who is part of Hip Hop group Ukoo Flani Mau Mau, took to his Facebook page on Tuesday to appeal for Kenyans’ help and vent his anger at the manner in which the Kenyan Embassy was handling the matter.
Already, Kenyans on Twitter have started a campaign under the hashtag #IStandWithGrongi.
“As an artiste, I’m self-employed, meaning my work cannot go on,” said the artiste who claims the embassy has withheld his passport since January.
He now wants to know whether the government has revoked his citizenship. “I paid for my passport in January but four months later I am yet to receive it,” he says in a video posted on Facebook while brandishing the receipt.
“I can’t travel, I can’t work. My life is at a standstill.”
MISSED EVENTS
G-rongi claims he has already missed major events.
“I was to travel to the United States, Sarajevo and Bangkok but it has been impossible because the embassy has refused to give me back my passport,” he says.
“The officials in this embassy have mistreated me since I started demanding for my passport. They treat me like I am garbage to the extent of kicking me out. I speak my mind but they don’t want me to talk saying that I cannot be served when I am angry,” a frustrated G.rongi adds.
The artiste also laments that after making demands for the past four months, he has been asked to present an affidavit for his passport to be renewed. He now wonders if his nationality is still intact.
“What I want to know is if I am still Kenyan or my citizenship was revoked,” he says.
Githenji has been staying in France where he is teaching English at a school in Paris as part of his Mediart Language Immersion, an interactive way of learning a new language.
