Musical Band,Sauti Sol Threatens to Take ODM Leader Raila Odinga to Court
Kenyan star band Sauti Sol has threatened to lodge a legal complaint against Azimio la Umoja One Kenya over music copyright.
Through a statement issued on Monday night May 16, Sauti Sol accused the Raila Odinga-led Azimio of using one of their songs, Extravaganza, as a soundtrack during the unveiling of Narc Kenya Party leader Martha Karua as the coalition’s running mate.
Sauti Sol claimed that the action taken by Azimio’s campaign team infringed on their right to property as is guaranteed in Article 4 of the Constitution of Kenya.
“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,” their statement read in part.
“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,” it continued.
“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,” the band maintained.
Their statement comes just days after the Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) confirmed receiving Ksh562,500 from Raila as license fees for music to be used in his campaigns.
