For most of Wednesday, Abel Mutua has faced backlash over allegations of taking advantages of his role as a script writer for "Tahidi High" to kiss Sarah Hassan.
Mutua, who spent many years as a scriptwriter for Tahidi High and was responsible for the show’s storyline and plots, stirred controversy during an interview on the Mic Cheque Podcast. He disclosed that he had kissed actress Sarah Hassan on set, which sparked mixed reactions.
He noted that throughout the filming season, Hassan was more self-preservative and relaxed compared to other actresses. Mutua admitted that he altered the script to include an intimate scene with her. According to Mutua, it was during the final episode of the show that he kissed Hassan.
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“The very second last scene of our episode, we kissed while filming a scene in the classroom,” Mutua said.
The claims sparked mixed reactions on social media with some siding with Mutua while others sympathised with actresses in the film industry.
In 2019, Mutua explained why he left his scriptwriting job on Tahidi High and Mother-in-Law, which reportedly earned him Ksh 200,000 per month.
In an interview, he recounted a fatigue-related incident that led to his decision to quit. Mutua revealed that he collapsed in the shower after pushing himself too hard to create content for the two weekly shows over three years without a break, depriving himself of rest.
He mentioned that in August 2012, he collapsed while taking a shower due to exhaustion after writing scripts for 46 hours straight without sleep.
Kenyan actor turned content creator Abel Mutua who sprang to fame as ‘Freddie’ on iconic high-school drama series “Tahidi High” is being roasted on TikTok for allegedly taking advantage of his role as a scriptwriter to force a kiss scene with actress Sarah Hassan who played… pic.twitter.com/53HX8GFxul
— Cyprian, Is Nyakundi (@C_NyaKundiH) June 4, 2024
The incident prompted the house girl to raise the alarm, alerting neighbors who came to help.
“Since I was pushing myself too hard, one afternoon in August, 2012 after a 46-hour writing stint, I locked my laptop after sending my script and I was to take a quick shower before resting. I collapsed in the shower for forty minutes and the house girl had to call for help since my wife was at work. I was hospitalized for two days due to fatigue
“Before I was discharged the nurse gave me a wake up call. She told me Abel, I know in your mind you think your colleagues won’t go on without you. The truth is you will collapse and die and after you are gone, the show will still go on and what will happen, people will just post their condolence messages and that’s it,” he said.
Following the incident, Mutua resigned from his position and pursued other projects that required less effort compared to writing scripts for Royal Media Services.
