Popular Kenyan musician Hubert Nakitare alias Nonini, has won a copyright infringement case against a brand influencer.
In 2022, influencer Brian Mutinda, used Nonini’s legendary song ‘We Kamu’ in his Instagram post without Nonini’s permission in an advert for TV manufacturing company Synix.
Nonini has now been awarded Ksh.1 million in general damages for copyright infringement and Mutinda has been directed to pull down the unauthorized video from his social media platforms.
“Today March 23rd 2023 will go down in history (Year of the Jordan) & is a win for the Kenyan Music Industry #Mgenge2ru Vs the people who used my song “We Kamu” to push a product,” he said.
“General Damages plus cost of suit and interest! I’m gonna need that by Monday,” he added.
Initially, Nonini reacted to the ad with a tweet, posting, “Syinix Electronics decided to do a very brilliant advert using my song We Kamu. The only problem is they didn’t ask for permission.”
We Kamu became an instant hit when it was released in 2003 and has garnered over 300,000 views on YouTube.
This is a landmark ruling which has set precedence in the Kenyan creative space.