Boy band Sauti Sol has threatened to sue Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance for copyright infringement.
Sauti Sol accused the Raila Odinga-led Azimio of using one of their songs, Extravaganza, as a soundtrack for the introduction of Narc Kenya Party leader Martha Karua as the coalition’s running mate.
In a statement released on Monday, the award-winning band argued that Azimio’s campaign team’s actions violated their right to property, as provided under Article 4 of Kenya’s Constitution.
“It has come to our attention that the Azimio la Umoja campaign through its flagbearer and presidential candidate, the Right Hon. Former Prime Minister, Raila Odinga’s social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram) have without license nor authority used one of our more popular original compositions, “Extravaganza,” as a soundtrack to the announcement post of the running mate,” they said.
Read: Raila Names Martha Karua as Running Mate
“This action is a flagrant disregard of our basic and fundamental rights to property and freedom of association. Through their action, they have taken away the right to own and control what is originally and solely our property and have directly associated us to their campaign without our consent. This is contrary to Article 4 of the Constitution of Kenya,” added the band.
The group also stated that it is not affiliated with any political party in the country.
“We are disappointed by the Azimio la Umoja Campaign’s blatant disregard of our right to control the use of our copyright. We shall be seeking legal remedy for this clear violation of our copyright,” said Sauti Sol.
In response, Raila’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) said the use of the band’s song was solely meant to appreciate and celebrate their art.
“We would like to assure our celebrated musical team, Sauti Sol, that we love them & appreciate their music so much. The group has carried our country’s flag so high in international fora and every Kenyan appreciates this. Playing their song yesterday was a show of love for their work,” said ODM in a statement on Tuesday.
Extravaganza was released in 2019, a collaboration between the band and Nviiri the Storyteller, Bensoul, Crystal Asige, and Kaskazini.
Raila on May 7, paid some Sh562,500 to the Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) as license fees for music to be used during his campaigns.
The payment was made by the presidential hopeful’s daughter Winnie Odinga after meeting MCSK Senior Licensing Officer David Kiragu.
“It’s gratifying to see that presidential candidates are complying with the copyright law by paying for music used in their political campaigns.
“We thank Winnie and the entire Raila Odinga’s presidential team for this gesture and urge other political candidates to emulate them by making payments for the use of copyrighted musical works in their campaigns,” MCSK said.
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