Kenya Copyright Board denies licence to MCSK

Led by Ezekiel Mutua, the MCSK was registered in 1983 and is one of three major CMOs in the East African country.

In a letter dated 12 January and signed by KECOBO executive director Edward Sigei, the state regulator noted that the MCSK’s application lacked key data such as a list of beneficiaries and royalty amounts paid in 2022, audited financial statements until June 2022, and an authenticated list of its members.

KECOBO, which is responsible for the administration and enforcement of copyright and related rights in Kenya, also accused the CMO of non-payment of mandatory fees for the 2021 and 2023 licensing periods.

The incomplete application, KECOBO added, was in contravention of Section 46 of the Copyright Act №12 of 2001 and the Copyright (Collective Management) Regulations 2020.

“This is therefore to inform you that your application has failed to meet the statutory standard for the above reasons set out,” the letter reads. “You are directed to cease collection forthwith.”

Last year, High Court of Kenya turned down a request by the MCSK to break away from KECOBO, ordering the CMO to file a new registration with KECOBO before 25 October 2022.

Mutua is also blaming Sigei for MCSK’s woes, accusing him of corrupt conduct. On his part, Sigei has described the allegations as “defamatory”, adding that “there are legitimate platforms and standards to address denial of licence issues.”

“I think it would be good to present the evidence to the necessary authorities,” he told Kenyan media. “I'm keen to know the dates, amounts, reasons and names of directors whom I solicited from, so that I can verify and allow the authorities or myself to seek an account.”

Meanwhile, KECOBO says it will soon subject CMOs to a forensic audit that will test their compliance against the previous year’s licence conditions and “account for money received from local and international sources in the last three years.”