Nairobi News

Three years after the demise of the once vibrant gospel artist Papa Dennis, his former manager, Joseph Msanii, also known as Dr Msanii, alleges foul play in the singer’s death.

The circumstances surrounding Papa Dennis’s demise remain shrouded in mystery, as police reports initially suggested that the musician plunged from an apartment building in Pangani on the night of February 7, 2020, a Friday, in what was suspected to be a case of suicide.

Details of what exactly transpired before he met his death remain scanty, but according to Dr Msanii, his childhood friend, the gospel star, was killed.

According to Dr Msanii’s narrative, Papa Dennis was a victim of a well-orchestrated plan by what he terms “industry cartels” who were after his money.

“Papa Dennis was killed; he did not commit suicide. He was killed by the industry cartels who were after his fortunes. Towards his last days Papa Dennis had landed a deal worth millions from Ufanisi Foundation in Kibera to work on a Cancer Awarness campaign project. He had also landed a deal with Kakamega county on a Cancer campaign again. I was at the center of all these deals. Why would he kill himself just when these juicy deals were about to materialize?” Dr Msanii poses.

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Dr Msanii confesses at the time, Papa Dennis was going through a hard time financially, having left Maliza Umaskini Record label in 2018, which was responsible for his lavish lifestyle.

He says the singer was on course to get back on his feet after he landed the two deals that he had planned to use the proceedings to turn his life around.

“If indeed he killed himself, why is that there was no witness to collaborate the events leading to his death? The narrative that he jumped to his death from the 7th floor of the Pangani building doesn’t make sense,” he said.

“Who saw him go up to the 7th floor? How did they know it was the 7th floor? No one came out to say they saw him go up. For him to access the balcony of that floor, which was away from the studio to throw himself, he must have had to pass through another resident’s sitting room, go to the bedroom, and eventually end up at the balcony,” he continued.

“Until today, there is no witness to attest to this. Better yet, even if he were to throw himself from the rooftop of the building, he had to open the gate to the rooftop, which police found closed at the time of his death. So, how exactly did he jump off the balcony?”

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Dr Msanii further argues that the death of Papa Dennis was reported by the owner of the studio, who had left for town, leaving Papa Dennis and a producer in charge of the studio.

“An hour later after his death, the owner of the studio called the producer to inform him of the news that Papa Dennis had jumped to his death.”

Another explanation from Dr Msanii is that from the postmortem, it was discovered that Papa Dennis had injuries that suggested he had been assaulted but not as a result of a fall.

“He sustained a blood clot on one side of his head, a fracture on his left ribs, and a broken leg. The injuries suggest that a blunt object struck him on the head, and in an attempt to shield himself with his hand, the same object hit his ribs.

It’s puzzling because if he had fallen as claimed, there should have been multiple fractures, yet most of his bones remained intact. Additionally, his phone, a potential piece of evidence, was never recovered; it seems his assailants took it to conceal any traces,” he claims.

According to the police report, Papa Dennis stormed out of a studio session owned by producer Mjukuu, rushed to the 7th floor of the Kirima building in Ngara, and jumped to his death.

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