By Judith Gicobi
The legal teams of presidential contender Raila Odinga and Kenyan boy band Sauti Sol are currently negotiating to settle the much-publicized copyright dispute.
Moriasi Omambia, Sauti Sol’s lawyer, asserts that the Azimio La Umoja One Kenya coalition party chief is dedicated to a peaceful resolution.
“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 remarked on Twitter.
Bien Aime Baraza, Polycarp Otieno, Savara Mudigi, and Willis Chimano threatened to take legal action the political party for using their song “Extravaganza” without permission in a statement released on Monday.
Azimio was accused by the boy band of violating Kenya’s Copyright Act, Section 35, CAP 170. “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.
Raila’s ODM stated they used the song “as a show of love” for their art in an attempt to defuse the matter, which had already gotten a lot of attention.
The band lost around 2,000 YouTube subscribers as a result of the dispute.
