The Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) has strongly condemned former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s recent call for a boycott of Mt Kenya musicians who visited Deputy President Kithure Kindiki.
On Sunday, Gachagua urged residents of the Mt Kenya region to stop supporting artists who attended a meeting at Kindiki’s home.
The meeting, held on Friday, brought together several top musicians from the region to discuss challenges in the music industry, particularly around “exploitative cartels.”
“The creative industry is a multibillion-shilling business,” said Kindiki after the meeting.
“Constant engagement with performing artists and other players is necessary to find ways of supporting them through policy and protection of intellectual property rights.”
But Gachagua, in response, described the musicians’ visit to Kindiki as a betrayal of the Mt Kenya community.
He even threatened to mobilize residents to stop listening to their music and warned entertainment joints against hosting them.
“Those who went to Ruto to ask for forgiveness, if not, I’ll order no one to listen to their music and no clubs will invite them to perform,” said Gachagua, who also accused an unnamed artist of spreading false claims against him and his Democratic Congress Party (DCP).
MCSK Chief Executive Officer Dr. Ezekiel Mutua dismissed Gachagua’s remarks, saying they were unfortunate and dangerous, especially coming from a senior leader.
He emphasized that artists have the right to associate freely and should not be punished for exercising that freedom.
“Let it be clear that MCSK will not tolerate any form of economic sabotage targeting our members,” said Dr. Mutua. “Any entertainment venue that complies with calls to discriminate against our artists will not be authorized to play music licensed by MCSK.”
He noted that public performances form a crucial source of income for many artists and warned that political interference in the industry threatens their livelihoods.
“We urge all entertainment establishments to reject this unfortunate and potentially harmful boycott call, which undermines fundamental rights to freedom of association and expression,” Dr. Mutua added.
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