Sauti Sol threatens to sue Azimio over music copyright
The award-winning Kenyan boy band Sauti Sol has threatened to file a legal complaint against Azimio la Umoja over music copyright.
Through a statement, Sauti Sol said that the act of Azimio using their song ‘Extravaganza’ without their consent is blatant copyright infringement as directed by section 35, CAP 170 of the Copyright Act of Kenya.
They accused the Raila Odinga-led coalition of using one of their songs as a soundtrack during the unveiling of Narc Kenya Party leader Martha Karua as the coalition’s running mate.
“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.
“We did not license this song to the Azimio la Umoja Campaign neither did we give any consents for its use in the announcement of their Vice-Presidential Candidate.
Furthermore, our authority to use the composition, which is one of our most distinct compositions was neither sought nor given,” read the statement.
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.
“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.
Further, they maintained that they are not aligned to any political side in the country.
“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.
