Kizz Daniel’s Arrest In Tanzania: Well Deserved?

For the past few days, social media has been buzzing with news of the famous Nigerian musician Kizz Daniel, getting arrested in Tanzania. The Buga crooner was invited by Stephen Uwa, a Nigerian businessman based in Tanzania, to perform at the Summer Amplified show scheduled for Sunday 7th of August, 2022.

Trust Nigerians on social media, everyone had something to say. Some people believe he deserves it, especially since this is not the first time he is being accused of breaching an agreement. They also believe his arrest will serve as an example to other young musicians who have made unprofessionalism a habit.

But it is important to consider the facts of the case devoid of emotions. So, shall we?

Full Gist Of Kizz Daniel’s Arrest

According to Mr. Uwa, he paid Kizz Daniel (whose real name is Oluwatobi Daniel Anidugbe) the sum of 60,000 dollars to perform at the highly publicized show. In his explanation to radio presenter Daddy Freeze, Mr. Uwa stated that he had spent over 300,000 dollars organizing the show. Tables were sold for as high as 5,000 to 10,000 dollars, and this is aside from the planning and logistics involved.

According to him, Kizz Daniel’s excuse for refusing to perform was that the airline did not bring his luggage. He claimed he needed one of the gold chains in his bag, and he couldn’t perform without it.

All efforts to convince him to perform his obligations under the agreement proved futile, and Mr. Uwa believed his reputation as a businessman was on the line. Several fans of Kizz Daniel attended the show to see him perform, and they trashed the event center in disappointment after he failed to show up.

Feeling slighted, Mr. Uwa involved the police, and Kizz Daniel was arrested in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. A viral video appeared on Twitter, with Kizz Daniel in a black hoodie, entering the police van and being driven away.

What Does The Law Say?

Like Nigeria, Tanzania is a commonwealth country. This means that the principles of common law received from the British still apply within its legal system. Under common law, a breach of contract is a civil matter, and the police have no business with civil matters. They can only get involved when there are elements of criminality, such as a fraudulent breach of contract.

To show that a crime has been committed, you must establish two key ingredients, which are:

• Actus Reus (the wrongful act or criminal act )
• Mens Rea (Guilty mind or motive)

Essentially, if you can prove that a wrongful act occurred but fail to establish the perpetrator’s motive for carrying out the act, you may not successfully prove your case. But you probably watch NCIS, Brooklyn 99, The Blacklist, and other crime and investigation TV shows, so you get the idea.

The exception to this is where you show that although the person had no bad intention against you directly, he was negligent in carrying out the act without considering the likely consequences.

A good example of this would be a professional such as a doctor or engineer who is negligent in the services he offers to his client. If this negligence leads to serious losses like injury or death, such a person will be guilty of professional negligence and can be held criminally liable. Remember Michael Jackson’s doctor who was sentenced to jail for giving the late musician an overdose of sleeping tablets?

Anyway, when can the police get involved in a breach of contract? When there is a clear case of fraud, or simply put, obtaining by pretenses. This means that before entering the contract, one of the parties lied, or gave a false representation of one of the fundamental facts, knowing fully well that such a statement was false.

Image Source: Unsplash

In this case, if Kizz Daniel had lied to the organizers about coming to perform, or had no prior intention of fulfilling the contract but instead absconded with the money, then a claim for obtaining by pretenses would be applicable.

In reality, this was not the case. Not only did he travel down to the country for the show, but he also made preparations to perform. This is proof that he exhibited no prior malice or bad intentions to abscond with the money he was paid. So you may argue that there was no criminality involved, just a breach of contract which is a civil matter.

However, a few issues make it a bit more complex than your regular breach of contract. First of all, both parties are foreigners. But while Mr. Uwa is based in Tanzania, Kizz Daniel is based in Nigeria. He also has access to a lot of money, which means he can leave Tanzania at any time, which would make it more difficult for the organizers of the show to pursue a civil case in court.

For these reasons, perhaps we can excuse the involvement of the police in the matter. It is important to make sure he does not leave the country as quickly as possible, otherwise, the entire civil process would be frustrated.

Nevertheless, be sure to avoid rushing to the police for civil matters. Trust me, things may not always go the way you plan.

What To Do When A Party Breaches A Contract

Ordinarily, an aggrieved party to a contract should institute an action in court to remedy the breach. He can seek damages for the loss suffered, or specific performance, where the court compels the other party to fulfill his contractual obligations. He can also seek a cancellation of the contract and restitution of the money he invested in it.

Nowadays, the safe thing to do is to incorporate a clause in the contract, which covers possible outcomes in case of a breach of the contract by any of the parties. It is also common practice for parties to include the governing laws and jurisdiction that the contract is subject to. In the event of any dispute between the parties, this jurisdiction will have binding authority over them.

Lastly, not everyone enjoys the complexities of litigation. It can drag on for quite a while, and in the end, you may lose more time and energy trying to remedy the situation. Therefore, it is a good option to resort to alternative methods of dispute resolution. An ADR clause can be included in the contract, compelling parties to first try various methods of settling out of court, before opting for litigation.

Many times, the court is usually reluctant to set aside the original terms of the agreement between the parties. It will enforce these terms unless a clear case of injustice will occur if the terms are implemented. So while these steps do not provide a 100% guarantee that parties to the contract will comply, they provide a safety net for the aggrieved party to use, just in case the need ever arises.

Our Favorite Reactions

As usual, social media users had a lot to say on the matter, especially Naija Twitter. Some people used the opportunity to compare the artist to other A-list artists in the industry like Davido, Burnaboy, and Olamide. Some responses drew attention to a few other concerns as well.

Check out some of our favorite reactions.

Image Source: Twitter

On his part, Kizz Daniel recently issued an apology which he publicized on his social media pages. He claimed that his failure to perform was a result of the delayed flight, and he had to wait for several hours for another flight to pick him up. On top of this, the airline failed to deliver his luggage. He promised to perform for free, stating that he never intended to disappoint his fans. Although some people did not buy his apology, we honestly believe time will tell.

On the bright side, he fulfilled his promise of a free show and gave a wonderful performance in Tanzania on Friday night, August 12th, 2022. He issued another apology on stage and proclaimed his love for his fans.

It looks like it all worked out for him in the end, but you know Nigerians. He probably won’t hear the last of this any time soon.