In March 2021, top corporates led a campaign against former radio presenter Shaffie Weru and popular Dj Joe Mfalme. The campaign saw these two radio acts get fired from Radio Africa.
The duo was accuser of making insensitive comments live on radio regarding a woman who had been pushed from a storey house by her boyfriend for refusing to have sex with him. The boyfriend was recently sent to jail for a five year term.
In one statement, East African Breweries Limited announced that it would stop its advertisement engagements with Radio Africa until the duo was fired.
“As a pre-condition to revert to our advertising partnerships, we have asked RAG to conduct due diligence in the selection of presenters and embed a robust consequence management plan on those that do not abide by the code of conduct,” EABL said in part.
Over one year later, top corporate Safaricom has found itself under pressure to take action against a rally driving celebrity who is facing charges of domestic assault.
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The main difference with last year’s case is that the accused is a woman: Maxine Wahome.
Maxine is accused of beating her boyfriend Asad Khan to a point of sending him to the ICU. Khan is admitted at the Avenue Hospital’s high dependency unit.
Maxine was released from police custody on Wednesday by a Magistrate’s Court with a cash bail of Sh. 100,000.
Safaricom has been a major sponsor of Maxine who is 26 years old. The telecommunications firm first sponsored her with Sh. 1 million during the Kenya National Rally Championship in Voi in 2021.
This was followed with a Sh. 2 million boost in October 2021 from Safaricom for the rest of the 2021 rally calendar. In June 2022, Maxine received a Sh. 1 million cash reward from Safaricom for her rally accomplishments during the WRC Safari Rally.
Maxine, navigated by Waigwa Murage, emerged victorious in the WRC3 category, to become the first female to win a round in the event that attracted top rally drivers in the world.
Although she will now be facing a court case to prove whether she’s guilty or innocent of the assault she is accused of committing, Maxine is now facing possible sponsorship blackout.
On social media, questions have been raised on whether her main sponsor, Safaricom, should drop her altogether. Questions have also been raised over what some people have perceived as double standards in the case of Maxine in contrast to the case of Shaffie Weru.
