Dorothy Ooko, Head of Communications at Google Africa, has provided clarification regarding the termination of media personality Andrew Kibe’s YouTube channels.
Ooko stated that Kibe’s actions had violated YouTube’s terms of service, leading to the restriction of his access to the platform’s features.
According to Ooko, after one of Kibe’s channels was restricted, he attempted to circumvent the restrictions by using different accounts. This act of circumvention, as she explained, ultimately resulted in the termination of all his channels.
Ooko’s comments came in response to a complaint from one of Kibe’s fans, Marian Wairimu, who had raised concerns about YouTube’s decision to terminate the channels.
Wairimu argued against the emergence of cancel culture in content creation and called for the restoration of Kibe’s accounts, viewing the action as a direct attack on creative individuals.
In response to the termination, Andrew Kibe expressed his surprise, mentioning that he had not received any emails indicating violations that would lead to his channel’s termination.
He questioned the procedure and asked for evidence of the alleged violations, including a paper trail.
Kibe had previously informed his followers that once he was done with YouTube, he intended to upload his content on an alternative platform.
Notably, several popular personalities have experienced the termination of their YouTube accounts at various points.
These include Diamond Platnumz, who manages one of Africa’s largest accounts with over 7 million subscribers. His account was terminated in 2022 but was later reinstated.
In 2020, comedian Flaqo faced a similar situation, as did Tanasha Donna in 2021, although they all eventually managed to recover their accounts.