Eddie Butita: How Bahati and Diana Marua stole and sold my show [Video]

Comedian and Script Writer Eddie Butita has accused singer Bahati of stealing a show he created and selling it without his knowledge.

Speaking for the first time about the dispute, Butita said on Radio Maisha that the Cook and Reveal on Diana Marua's YouTube platform was a creation of Stage Presence Media and took him three months to make.

He added that after doing a smooth first season of the show, Bahati approached a different company to sponsor it without him, cutting him out of a very lucrative deal.

“I am the creator, from the name to the concept,” Butita said, adding that he also found a way to incorporate his Bahati’s wife Diana Marua as the host.

“They went and sold the show for a lot of money and I did not receive any money from it.”

Butita said he called Bahati as a friend and instead of trying to solve the issue amicably, the singer told him off, daring him to go to court.

He said Bahati claimed to have registered the show in his name and would think about whether or not to compensate Butita.

“He doesn’t know how hard people worked to figure out how to bring Diana on to the show, how she was branded into a host and how the real stories would be blended in.

“They decided to do it alone later yet they were just cast members and did not own it,” the scriptwriter explained.

Cook and reveal Pulse Live Kenya

Since landing a scripting deal with Netflix, Butita’s profile as a content creator and director rose as Kenyans got to know more about his craft.

In different interviews, he said that he scripted jokes for many performing comedians including Eric Omondi, Njugush and MCA Tricky.

He recalled that his career as a comedy script writer and director started at Churchill Show where comedian would unofficially ask for his advice before hitting the stage.

As days went by, more and more performers would consult Butita and together they would rephrase, rescript and improve their content.

"The management at Churchill Show took notice and offered me a job as a creative where I would help comedians in an official capacity. That meant that sometimes I would not perform on stage.

"That experience taught me that some people hate you for no reason. Some Kenyans would tell me that my performances were lame and compare me with other comedians. What they didn't know was that I was writing jokes for their so-called favourite comedians," Butita said.