Inside Sauti Sol’s copyright infringement suit against Raila’s Azimio

 

In May 2022, as the nation approached the August general election, the acclaimed Afro-pop band Sauti Sol made headlines by threatening legal action against the Azimio la Umoja coalition party.

The dispute arose when the Raila Odinga-led coalition used Sauti Sol’s hit song ‘Extravaganza’ during the unveiling of presidential running mate Martha Karua at a political event held at the KICC.

Sauti Sol accused Azimio of a “flagrant disregard” for their fundamental rights to property and freedom of association, asserting that the coalition had not obtained consent for the political use of their song.

In a statement, band members Polycarp Otieno, Willis Austin Chimano, Mudigi Savara, and Bien-Aime expressed their intention to seek a legal remedy for the alleged copyright violation.

Sauti Sol stated that Azimio had not obtained consent from them for the use of their song to advance their political agenda.

“Through their action, they have taken away the right to own and control what is originaly and solely our property, and have directly associated us with their campaign without our consent. 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-President canditate” part of the statement read.

Despite the initial indication of legal action, the matter was resolved amicably outside the courtroom.

Moriasi Omambia, Lead Counsel and Head of Business Affairs at Sol Group of Companies, exclusively disclosed to Nairobi News, “The issue ended amicably out of court. We had great conversations with Paul Mwangi, who was the Secretary to Azimio, and ended the situation amicably.”

The conversations reportedly focused on enlightening the coalition about the importance of understanding and respecting copyrights and intellectual property rights.

Omambia emphasised the personal nature of art and the need for artists to control its usage.

He clarified the band’s neutral political stance, stating, “We do not support any political party. We are not loudly out there in terms of political standing. Why? Because we do not represent one part of society, so for us, we have to remain neutral, and that use, how they used the song, we felt it wasn’t right.”

When asked about compensation for the unauthorised use, Omambia chose not to disclose details but affirmed that the matter concluded amicably.

“Like I said, education is very important and there has to be an understanding that when we make art and that even if it’s in the public domain, art also is personal to the person who makes the art and when you make it you want to be able to control where it’s going and who is using it. That was a conversation we needed to have not only by political parties but the powers that be MCSK (Music Society of Kenya) that said they were allowed to give our music to political parties.”

By Sinda Matiko