Nairobi, Kenya| By Michael Wandati | Nigerian Afrobeats sensation David Adedeji Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has instructed his lawyers to take legal action against K24 TV, a Kenyan publication for publishing an April Fool’s Day prank about his alleged arrest at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) after cocaine was reportedly found in his private jet.
The piece carried on Mediamax’s K24 digital platform splashed under the headline “Davido detained at JKIA after Sh18 million cocaine haul found in his private jet.”
Davido who has just finished an East African tour, released a statement on Tuesday, April 2, expressing his frustration with the inaccurate reporting and condemning it as “extremely irresponsible.”
The article, which was first published by Mediamax’s K24 TV digital platform as part of their April Fool’s Day editorial, was deemed by Davido as a fabricated story.
The Nigerian megastar, who had just performed to packed audiences at the Timeless Concert in Kampala and Raha Fest in Nairobi, said it led to him receiving a barrage of calls.
“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.”
“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 said on Tuesday.
“I have never been arrested by anyone in any country for any crime in the world,” he said on social media… Not my home Nigeria, my home America, or any of the hundreds of countries I’ve made home throughout my career,” his statement on X, formerly Twitter, continued.
“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,” he added.
While reacting to the news on their social media platforms, Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) quickly branded the report as ‘Fake News’.
Davido, through his legal representatives at Conrad Law Advocates, on Tuesday issued a pre-suit letter to K24 TV demanding an unreserved apology for the malicious content. He emphasized that these unfounded allegations not only tarnished his personal and professional reputation but also constituted a breach of his rights.
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“The statements found in your article are blatantly false and published with the express intent of disparaging our client,” Davido’s advocates stated.
“Your statements are false and affect our client’s professional reputation by falsely stating that Davido was arrested for drug-related offenses,” the law firm asserted.
Davido’s legal representatives have demanded that Mediamax cease publishing defamatory statements against him, issue a formal apology, admit liability for defaming the singer, and provide compensation for his attorney fees and costs.
A Cease-and-desist letter has been issued on behalf of Davido by Conrad Law Advocates LLP
They have made it clear that if these demands are not met within 48 hours, they will proceed with filing a lawsuit.
Mediamax Network Limited has yet to respond on Davido’s decision to pursue legal action, but consequently, the publication has deleted the April Fool’s Day prank article by the time of filling this report.
While many Kenyans found the prank inappropriate, some have taken to social media expressing hopes for an amicable resolution to the situation.
