Tanzania arrests musician Diamond Platinumz over sexy social media video

A famed Tanzanian musician has been arrested by authorities over a social media post deemed to be in breach of cultural norms of the East African nation.

The 28-year-old Diamond Platinumz, real name Naseeb Abdul Juma, is seen in a video which showed him playfully kissing an unknown woman.

The video has since been shared by showbiz websites and by people on social media. It is unclear how the video became public and whether it was the official cause of his arrest.

Harrison Mwakwembe, Tanzania’s Communications Minister has however told parliament that the material posted by the musician contravened existing laws.

According to the Nairobi News portal, the artiste had posted the material to slight his former wife. His ex-wife left him after he had an extra-marital affair that led to the birth of a son with one of his dancers.

Diamond has however not been a stranger to controversy with his sexually suggestive content especially videos.

On the back of a presidential criticism of some of his work, two of his works – Hallelujah and Waka – were affected by a government ban that affected a total of 13 other songs. The ban was on grounds that the materials were against the country’s norms and values.

Tanzania bans 'obscene music', 2 Diamond Platinumz songs affected https://t.co/TbG4DyftLT

— africanews (@africanews) March 2, 2018

Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) at the time said it had announced the ban after receiving a list of the songs from the National Arts Council of Tanzania.

“The said records have lyrics which violate ethics of regulations of broadcasting services (Content) 2005,” TCRA said in a statement to media.