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Oliver ‘Na Jesca’ Keith

Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent
COMEDIAN Oliver Keith sparked furore on social media through his alter ego Na Jesca when he criticised Intwasa Arts Festival koBulawayo board members following reports that their property had been attached.

The festival, with offices at Treger Building in Bulawayo, had its property attached as they owed $2 900 in rental arrears.

Property that went under the hammer included a Hisense Fridge, Filing Cabinet, 16 plastic chairs, two office desks, seven office chairs and an HP printer.

This did not go down well with Na Jesca — an avid follower of the arts — who took to Facebook to share “her” two cents on the matter.

In a three-minute video, Na Jesca berates Raisedon Baya, the Intwasa director, questioning why he had been ignoring the debt.

“I want to ask Raisedon one thing, not because I’m someone important, but because I was born in Bulawayo. You want to tell us that you accumulated arrears of $2 900 and didn’t tell anyone about it?

“So as a board, you failed to sit down and sort this out to an extent that your chairs and printers are being taken. What have you been doing all this time as a board? The next thing you’ll be telling us that there’s no Intwasa,” said Na Jesca.

Thereafter, a debate ensued on his Facebook timeline with many people angered at the prospect of losing the festival.

Renowned playwright Thabani Moyo, who has close ties with Baya, tried to defend his friend explaining that the festival was in debt because of the depressed economy.

He said most people who were commenting were clueless on how to run an arts organisation.

“It’s easy for most of you on this platform to point fingers at Intwasa management. The truth is we all know that the economic situation out there is challenging,” posted Moyo.

Na Jesca responded: “I think your attitude is a classic example of the route that Intwasa has taken. You’re setting a bad precedence with your immature and empty comment.”

The Intwasa team remained mum on the issue.