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Five renowned Kenyan music producers, Jacky B, Bizzy B, Teddy B, Ihaji, and Totti, a Mombasa-based producer, have sued Safaricom over its call-back tone platform, Skiza.
Through law firm Bond Advocates LLP, the five claim that despite contributing to hundreds of songs available on the Skiza platform for over a decade, they have never received a single penny in royalties since the songs were placed on Skiza platforms.
Some of the 154 songs listed by the plaintiff include one-time hit songs such as
Kitanzi and
Sitolia by Willy Paul,
Vanity by Daddy Owen,
Ugali Sosa by Man Ingwe, Mtaachana Tu by Bahati, Rejea by Guardian Angel, Asusu by DK Kwenye Hit, Chaguo La Moyo by Otile Brown among others.
"This case is not just about us as individual producers, it's about ensuring that all music creators receive fair compensation for their work. For years we have contributed to the growth of the Kenyan music industry, yet our rights have been ignored. We are seeking justice for ourselves and every producer and composer whose work has been used without due payment," says Jacky B.
This won't be the first copyright infringement case filed against the Safaricom Skiza platform.
In December 2015, former hip-hop artist turned businessman Simon 'Bamboo' Kimani filed a civil suit in the High Court against the telecom giant and premium rate service providers (PRSPs) Bensoft Interactive Ltd and Mtech Communication Ltd for the unauthorized use of his three records Mama Africa (2005) featuring Akon, Yes Indeed (2005) and Move On (2012) featuring Camp Mullah.
The three songs were used in Safaricom's Skiza callback tunes.
In 2023, after nine years in the corridors of justice, Justice Asenbath Nyaboke assessed general damages for infringement of Bamboo's rights at Sh1.5 million for each of the three songs, totaling Sh4.5 million.
However, the case that set a precedent against Safaricom Skiza was filed in 2008 by Mugithi singer John Boniface Maina aka JB Maina who accused the platform of infringing on the copyrights of his 10 popular songs.
The case dragged on until 2012 when Justice G.K Kimondo ruled that he was satisfied that Safaricom had used JB Maina's music catalog for profit without his consent with the public downloading the songs from the Safaricom platform.
However, the lawsuit didn't culminate in a verdict, as Safaricom and JB Maina reached an out-of-court settlement in May 2014, in which the singer was compensated by paying him Sh15.5 million.
When JB Maina first went to court, he was seeking compensation of Sh5 million as general damages in addition to the money due after accounting for the illegal sale of his musical works through promotions
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