Lawyer Lodges Complaint Over “Chaotic” Blankets & Wine Festival

A Kenyan attorney has officially addressed the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) claiming that the Blankets and Wine festival to be held on September 28, 2025 at the Laureate Grounds in Kasarani was involved in unfair trade practices and providing an event experience that was not in line with the standards advertised.

Francis Wanjiku complains in the complaint that CAK should investigate the festival under Section 9 of Competition Act (Cap. 504) which regulates unfair trade practices.

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Wanjiku argues that those who purchased tickets to attend the event were sold a substandard and poorly marshmalled experience that was nowhere near what was being sold and especially when the event experienced cases of crowds, technical failure and organizational failure.

Several Failures As Testified by Visitors.

One of the primary complaints was sound distortion – the acts, even the headlining Tems, were said to be affected by audio and technical issues to the point of not being able to keep up with the sound or enjoy it.

There were also serious scheduling failures of the event. Acts were reported to have done things out of order and the programme was hours late to its usual schedule. There were several occasions when it took more than an hour of nothing happening on the stage, no DJ mixing, no announcements, which resulted into frustration and confusion among the people.

There was also the criticism of Bar operations. Late opening of bars caused long queues, which were almost on the verge of becoming uncontrollable. According to many attendees of the festival, the scenes were almost of stampede scale.

Other than logistics, the behaviour and conduct of the security personnel were scorned. Most of the guests complained of being highhanded and having poor attitudes of those charged with the responsibility of managing the crowd.

Public Relations contributes to Pressure.

The event had numerous flaws and a scathing post on a new post provided a vivid account of the same. The author recounted:

At 3 pm, I was still reading X… asking myself whether the show was being directed by Nairobi matatu conductors.

A large crowd is a beautiful thing on the book. Was the event ready to deal with such a crowd though? No, no, no, the very reality of it, was down in the pits all the time.

Even though the reviewer had been highly complimenting to the artists on how best they could do given the situation, he blamed the organizers straight in the face:

“Blankets & Wine is supposed to be a cultural highlight … the artists upheld their end of the bargain. But the organizers fumbled. Badly. The entire thing felt like a masterclass in how not to run an event.”

As per the review, the event was now more concerned with cramming in numbers than ensuring the comfort, hydration or fun of the attendants.

Legal Request and Stakes

Wanjiku not only wants CAK to investigate the organizers over unfair trade practices, but also force them to give the money back to the people that attended the festival because he refers to it as a shoddy experience. Such a ruling, in case confirmed, would provide a precedent of how the large-scale cultural events are going to be conducted and regulated in Kenya.

The organizers of the festival have not issued any statement publicly to counter the claims..