A joke made on April 1st, popularly known as Fool’s Day, has turned out to be very expensive for K24’s publication department under Mediamax Networks Limited.
Nigerian artist Davido, whose real name is David Adedeji Adeleke, has initiated legal action against a Kenyan TV station due to a story he considers defamatory.
On Monday, April 1st, K24 released a report alleging that the prominent Afrobeat bigwig, who was in Kenya for the Raha Fest show, had been detained at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
The story’s headline read ‘Nigerian musician Davido detained at JKIA after Ksh18M co*caine haul found in his private jet’.
As the news was published on April 1st, many dismissed it as a prank. However, the headline caught up with many, causing the story to trend and draw the attention of both the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and Davido himself. Some readers mistook the story for genuine news.
Davido disclosed that he became aware of the situation through a series of phone calls informing him about the prank story alleging his arrest by the police on Sunday, March 31st.
“Fam, it has come to my attention that false reports regarding an arrest circulated online on April 1st, which has since led to a barrage of calls,” he addressed in a statement via his official social channels.
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“I want to assure my fans that these reports are entirely untrue. I successfully completed my scheduled shows in Uganda and Kenya and have since returned home to Nigeria.”
Davido emphasized that the accusations made by the publication were irresponsible, even considering the context of April Fools’ Day. He has since instructed his lawyer to take appropriate legal action against the publication.
“I find the fabrication of allegations of such international crimes extremely irresponsible regardless of the light of ‘April Fools’, and my lawyer is seeking legal recourse against the media parties responsible for generating this misinformation,” the statement read in part.
Furthermore, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) also flagged the media house for the news article, which falsely claimed that Davido had been arrested by the Anti-Narcotics Police unit at JKIA along with his crew members. This followed a search conducted on his private jet.
The Kenyan media outlet released a statement asserting that the editorial piece was part of their April Fools’ Day content.
“Were you fooled,” the media house wrote in reaction to the online uproar it caused. Mediamax, K24’s parent company, had not responded to Davido’s statement at the time of publishing this article.