Kenyan boy band Sauti Sol has been trolled after threatening to sue Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya Coalition for alleged copyright infringement.
Trending top in the country, netizens have rallied and called out the Extravaganza hitmakers for chasing clout and having double standards.
Yesterday, a video was posted on Raila Odinga’s social media pages applauding Martha Karua following her nomination as Odinga’s running mate.
The song described Karua as a principled woman who fought for democracy and the new constitution, a second liberation heroine and a family woman.
https://twitter.com/RailaOdinga/status/1526149153008533505
Read: Boy Band Les Wanyika Accuse Sauti Sol Of Sampling Their Song Without Permission
Sauti Sol, through a statement shared on Twitter, termed the move a copyright infringement and threatened to take legal action while ideally distancing itself from the coalition.
“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,” the band said in a statement.
It added, “We did not license this song to the Azimio La Umoja campaign neither did we give any consent for its use in the announcement of their Vice-Presidential candidate…We shall be seeking legal remedy for this clear violation of our copyright.”
Read Also: Copyright Board Deregisters KAMP, PRISK and MCSK Over Misuse of Funds
They were shortly after trolled with netizens pointing out that the Raila-led team had already paid for copyright and got the greenlight from MCSK to play music for campaigns.
Notably, earlier this month, Winnie Odinga, Raila’s representative had paid Sh526,000 to the Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) to play local/international music during the presidential campaigns. This was confirmed by Senior Licensing Officer David Kiragu.
It's gratifying to see that Presidential candidates @RailaOdinga are complying with the Copyright law by paying for music used in their political campaigns. pic.twitter.com/kaNpyvub6i
— Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) (@TheMCSK) May 7, 2022
Here are some reactions from Twitter:
"Na wakiapisha, (Tunaapisha)" is an original concept by Raila Odinga. Sauti Sol used it without permission from Baba https://t.co/RauZDZ5LAW
— Ches (@jesangs_) May 16, 2022
https://twitter.com/Dj_Nonsense254/status/1526264375329361921
By the way why is Sauti sol suing Raila for using extravaganza while they said " wakiapisha, tunaapisha"
A statement Baba said over 10 years ago😂😂😂😂
— drey (@Dreymwangi) May 16, 2022
Sauti Sol should be grateful their one song was played at Raila's event. We've never lacked songs to play.
— Jimmy Arianda (@jimmy_arianda) May 17, 2022
2022 succession race is now between Rigathi Gachagua and Iron lady Martha Karua, Ruto na Raila washamalizana. Who will deliver the mountain? Ngilu will deliver Ukambani votes while watermelon keeps dreaming of becoming president.
Sauti sol are becoming petty for no reason.— The Explainer (@explainer_001) May 17, 2022
Azimio paid half a million to MCSK to obtain license to use music in their campaigns. They used Extravaganza. SautiSol (not party to the before arrangement) is not happy claiming copyright infringement.
Ile matusi wamepewa siku mzima jameni. Heh! Take my people slowly bwana.
— M A G U N G A (@theMagunga) May 16, 2022
Sauti Sol are just crying babies. They have to get back to the elementary schools inorder to understand what "copy right" is , Did Azimoi gain any monetary support by using the song ??
— Field Negro (@OtiatoKabeta) May 16, 2022
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