I paid Alex to bring Diamond for my daughter's birthday - Judith Bosslady

Nahurira, who also goes Judith Bosslady, said she initially wanted it to be an exclusive event, but Alex Muhangi proposed that they turn it into a public event hosted by his entertainment company Comedy Store.

"The purpose of Diamond Platnumz to come that time, purposely, to be honest, was just to have a cake cutting with my daughter... But it was actually Alex who suggested, let's make a show out of it," said Nahurira, whose daughter was celebrating her 18th birthday, adding that she paid for everything.

"But obviously I was funding everything, so it had nothing to do with Alex or Comedy Store... But I don't know how this nonsense goes on about Comedy Store and whatnot..."

The businesswoman, who was Wednesday afternoon hosted by Denzel Mwiyeresti on XFM, however, said she was pleased the celebrations went on as expected.

"Anyway, he came, the show was fine, people enjoyed," she said. "He did the purpose of what to me I wanted him to do."

Phoned for comment, Alex Muhangi declined not to be quoted following the conversation he had with this reporter, saying he doesn't do media interviews. This is not quite true, as there are some videos on the internet of Muhangi speaking to the media and sharing about his personal life and his company.

Those who attended the show, which was held on Friday, July 14, 2023, at the Kololo Independence Grounds in Kampala, saw Diamond Platnumz cutting the cake with Judith Nahurira's daughter. They even danced together.

Judging by Nahurira's comments and some media reports, there is a possibility that she fell out with Alex Muhangi after the event because she wasn't happy with how the event was promoted. He never accounted for the funds she had given to him, multiple sources have said. 

The sources involved in the organisation of the event told this reporter that the promotion of the event didn't tally with the budget. She committed close to a billion shillings to organising the show, the sources said.

Some reports indicate that Platnumz was paid over Shs250 million.

While appearing on XFM, she didn't go into details of what happened, saying: "That's a story for another day."

Shortly after hosting Diamond Platnumz in Kampala, Alex Muhangi relocated Comedy Store to Lazio Bar and Restaurant, a significantly smaller venue than UMA Multi-purpose Hall.

This reporter has since learnt that the change of venue made some staff redundant and some in top management, out of frustration, left the company because they felt instead of moving forward the company was on reversal, especially after hosting such a huge event.

Key staff departures include Paul Ampurire, a former headed communications at Comedy Store, who together with colleagues launched a show dubbed Stress Clinic in November. The event is hosted at UMA Multi-purpose Hall.

Reports later emerged that Alex Muhangi had left a bigger venue because the Uganda Revenue Authority was demanding more taxes than he could afford while others said that the venue owners demanded rent arrears he hadn't cleared.

Speaking over the phone with this reporter, an official from UMA who manages the Hall declined to be quoted, saying she would call back.

For an entertainment event like Comedy Store, URA takes 18% of profits and charges 15% of artiste earnings as withholding tax.

Again, Alex Muhangi declined to comment on this. As for the Multipurpose Hall, in December he hosted the Comedy Store Awards 2023 there.

Alex Muhangi started Comedy Store in 2016, having raised startup capital from The Improv, a U.S. comedy club franchise that hired him for a tour and he bagged Shs25 million.

Muhangi emerged on the comedy scene after participating in the Standup Uganda comedy competition. Before starting Comedy Store, he had been part of The Krackers, Mic Check and Jazz Comedy Uganda.

Before joining the comedy industry, he worked as a radio host and producer at Fenon Records.

If you are wondering why Judith Bosslady used the services of Alex Muhangi to bring Platunmz, the latter has performed at Comedy Store before. Comedy Store has also hosted several artistes from Nigeria, Tanzania and Kenya.