Football Kenya Federation Vice President McDonald Mariga has come out to expose singer Bahati as a liar and a person craving for cheap publicity stunts.
Mariga, who had earlier been accused by Bahati of frustrating his efforts to hand over his Sh 1 million pledge to Harambee Stars players following their win against Morocco disclosed that Bahati has been dodging Harambee Stars captain’s calls.
Speaking during an interview with SPM Sports, Mariga questioned where the Sh 1 million Bahati promised the players is.
Mariga Exposes Bahati’s Lies
According to the FKF Vice President, there was no procedure for handing over the money.
He insisted that Bahati could give the Harambee Stars captain Abud Omar the money instead of trying to chase clout using the same issue.
“Where is the money? He can give it to the captain. He should stop with the social media srunts and just come and give the money to the captain. No procedure needed. If he want to he should come and hand it over to the captain,” he said.
Mariga revealed that Bahati has been ignoring Harambee Stars Captain Abud’s calls over the past week.
“The captain has been calling him the whole week, but he’s not been picking up. If he wants to give out the money, he should come to The Curve and hand it over. He should stop all this online shenanigans. It’s so simple, he can just send it to the captain, who knows how to distribute it to the team. Yes, now he should stop with this social media business. It’s not necessary to put everything on social media,” he disclosed.
The retired athlete Bahati to stop chasing clout using Harambee Stars and soiling their name while at it.
He insisted that Bahati should come out and tell the truth instead of the cat and mouse games.
“He must apologise he’s saying that I’ve blocked the Harambee Stars’ money, but where exactly have I blocked it? He should release a statement and admit that he has been misleading us all along. I don’t like someone who is not straightforward at all. He should tell the truth. How long has he been lying? Let him tell Kenyans that he has deceived me. I don’t work for him, I don’t do his work. In football, we don’t do clout-chasing. He should not mess with the players’ names or mine as the FKF Vice,” he added.
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Bahati Shifts Blame On Mariga
Mariga’s revelation came barely 24 hours after Bahati publicly laid blame on him, holding he was making it difficult for him to handover his pledge to Harambee Stars’ players.
The Mama hitmaker on the night of Thursday, August 28, 2025, shared a comic video through which he explained why he is yet to deliver his Sh 1 million to the Harambee Stars’ players after beating Morocco.
Bahati had promised to gift the players Sh 1 million if they won their match against Morocco played at the Moi International Sports Center, Kasarani.
The star disclosed that he did not hand over the money on time because he was held up with family issues, including his child’s birthday in Naivasha.
That is not all, the singer also shifted blame to FKF vice chairperson McDonald Mariga, whom he accused of frustrating his efforts to handover the Sh 1 million to the players.
Bahati even went as far as leaking their private WhatsApp chats, insisting Mariga is to be blamed for not organising the handover process on time.
Bahati suggested that Mariga’s move to ignore his calls or responding to his messages was the reason for the delay.
In one message, dated Monday, August 18, Bahati wrote:
“Good morning senior, pole I missed your call. I was on set and also on a family vacation. I understand this week is crucial for the team’s training, so if I delay allow me to do it next week. Hii yangu ningetumana ni vile Wakenya wanataka proof nikipeana so naomba nijiletee aki.”
The leaked chats also showed Bahati sending multiple follow-up messages without receiving any replies from Mariga, even as late as August 24, 2025, after the team had been knocked out of the 2024 CHAN.
He shared a video of himself with DK Kwenye Beat while flaunting Sh 3 million as he insisted that he has no intention of failing on honouring his promise to Harambee Stars’ players.
The singer reiterated that he is ready to handover the money should Mariga play his part without much delays.
According to Bahati, he is even willing to gift Harambee Stars players Sh 3 million since it is just pocket change for him.
He noted that he will not feel a pinch by giving out the Sh 3 million because it is equivalent to his monthly expenditure.
Bahati had received massive criticism from Harambee Stars’ players and Kenyans a whole who accused him of trying to chase clout using the team.
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