Billy Te Kahika
The never-ending grift of a failed messiah
Every so often, Billy Te Kahika resurfaces, reminding New Zealanders that some people never learn, and some cons never die. Last night was one of those moments. A livestream link made its way to me, and out of morbid curiosity, I tuned in. What I found was not a rallying call to truth, justice, or political revolution, it was a digital begging bowl rattling for loose change.
Te Kahika, the self-styled saviour of the people, is now reduced to claiming he’s “living off Weet-Bix” while asking viewers to bankroll his so-called documentary. This project, mind you, has been “in the making” for years, with no evidence it is any closer to completion. Instead of accountability or progress, what his followers got was a sob story designed to pry open wallets.
From the moment he entered the political scene alongside disgraced MP Jami-Lee Ross, Te Kahika proved himself to be less of a leader and more of a conman. Advance New Zealand, the party they co-led into the 2020 election, was a circus of conspiracy theories, paranoia, and taniwha oil. When the votes were counted, New Zealanders resoundingly rejected him. Instead of learning the lesson, he doubled down - because grifting has always been more lucrative than governing.
Billy Te Kahika is a failed politician, a failed activist, and now a failed filmmaker. His only success has been convincing a small, loyal band of the gullible that his misfortunes are noble sacrifices rather than the consequences of his own decisions. The image he peddles as the persecuted freedom fighter is nothing more than a marketing strategy to keep donations trickling in.
Billy TK doesn’t care about his followers. He never did. If he did, he would have delivered on even one of the promises he made during his brief moment in the spotlight. Instead, he delivers excuses. The system silenced him. The mainstream media conspired against him. His enemies are everywhere. Now, apparently, he’s down to dry cereal for dinner. It’s pathetic theatre designed to manipulate the desperate and the delusional…