The legal teams of presidential candidate Raila Odinga and Kenyan boy band Sauti Sol are now in talks to resolve the much-publicized dispute over alleged copyright infringement.
Sauti Sol’s lawyer, Moriasi Omambia, claims that the Azimio La Umoja One Kenya coalition party chief is committed to resolving the problem amicably.
“I would like to confirm that the Raila Odinga Presidential Campaign and their lawyers are working with us, the @sautisol legal team, to resolve the infringement matter at hand. We acknowledge their willingness to quickly resolve the matter at hand,” Moriasi wrote on Twitter.
I would like to confirm that the Raila Odinga Presidential Campaign and their lawyers are working with us, the @sautisol legal team, to resolve the infringement matter at hand. We acknowledge their willingness to quickly resolve the matter at hand.
— Moriasi Omambia (@moriasi_o) May 20, 2022
In their statement on Monday, Bien Aime Baraza, Polycarp Otieno, Savara Mudigi and Willis Chimano threatened to sue the political outfit over use of their hit “Extravaganza” without consent.
The boy band accused Azimio of contravening Section 35, CAP 170 of the Copyright Act of Kenya.
“We did not license this song to the Azimio la Umoja campaign nor did we give any consent for its use in the announcement of their vice-president candidate. Furthermore, our authority to use the composition, which is one of our most distinct, was neither sought nor given,” they said.
Read: Wale Wanashuka Washuke – Bien Says After Sauti Sol Loses 2,000 YouTube Subscribers
The award winning band added: “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 rights to own and control what is originally and solely our property and have directly associated us to their campaign without our consent.”
In a bid to mitigate the situation that had already attracted a lot of attention, Raila’s ODM said they only used the song “as a show of love” for their art.
“We would like to assure our celebrated musical team Sauti Sol that we love them and appreciate their music so much. The group has carried our country’s flag so high in international fora & every Kenyan appreciates this. Playing their song yesterday was a show of love for their work,” ODM said.
The row saw the band lose some 2,000 YouTube subscribers.
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