Dawa ya deni ni kulipa! Diamond blames coronavirus in ongoing Ksh15m rent arreas lawsuit

Piece by: Elizabeth Ngigi
Exclusives

The latest mention of bongo star Diamond Platnumz’ Sh15 million rent case has been thwarted by coronavirus lockdowns, but the complainant’s lawyer isn’t buying it.

Diamond was sued on Monday at Mwananyamala Lands courts in Dar es Salaam by the house owner, Mr Wandwe.

He was not present in court to take a plea. His lawyer Gerald Hamisi said his client was out of the country, and due to the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic, the singer will only return after three weeks.

However, Wandwe’s lawyer Felix Buruda told the court Diamond’s absence in court was basically to frustrate the court process.

According to Tanzanian media, the singer was sued for allegedly destroying property worth millions of shillings in a house he had rented to house his Wasafi Classic Baby (WCB) Records Studio.

It is alleged that Diamond rented the house at Kijitonyama in Sinza before he moved the studio to its current location in Dar es Salaam.

The singer is allegedly supposed to pay at least TSh337 million (KSh15 million) for the properties destroyed and one-month rent arrears.

Hamisi said his client had instructed his manager Babu Tale to work on the case and bring everything to the limelight.

However, Buruda argued the singer could have emailed his lawyer and equipped him with the necessary information for the case to take its course.

“The case was first mentioned on September 19 last year and was repeated on 24th of the same month, then on October 24th, November 18th, on January 6th, then February 26th, until today, 16th March 2020,” Wandwe said.

Hamisi urged the court led by Justice Laurent Wambili to give him more time to put together all the information he needed for the case.

Justice Laurent Wambili postponed the case until today. When Diamond’s manager, Babu Tale, was reached for comment, he said it was not right for him to talk about matters that are before the court.