Kenya: New KECOBO chairperson reinstates CMOs’ licences

This follows a High Court ruling in Nairobi on 1 November that revoked the operating licences issued to the Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK), the Kenya Association of Music Producers (KAMP) and the Performers Rights Society of Kenya (PRISK).

In a statement issued on 8 November, new KECOBO chairperson Joshua Kutuny said the licences would be effective for six months beginning 8 November.

“The board was informed of the recent High Court decision on Constitutional Petition No E161 of 2023 in which the court nullified the CMO licences earlier issued by the management,” Kutuny said.

“To ensure operationalisation of CMOs and smooth collecting and distribution of royalties, the board hereby under Section 46 3(A) of the Copyright Act issue provisional licences to the three CMOS – KAMP, PRISK and the MCSK – effective today for a period of six months.”

Kutuny added that within the stipulated period, the agencies would be required to comply with the provisions of a memorandum of understanding they signed with the government and with the provisions of the CMO Regulations 2020.

Kutuny, who was appointed as KECOBO chairperson on 27 October, has promised to work with relevant stakeholders to enhance the collection and distribution of royalties. He said he was looking forward to launching capacity-building programmes to allow Kenyans to harness their creativity and earn from their content creation skills.

In her ruling on 1 November, Justice Hedwig Imbosa Ong’udi of the Milimani Law Courts revoked the licences issued by KECOBO executive director Edward Sigei, saying they were issued without a legally constituted board.

A petition was filed on 17 May 2023 by the chairman of the Music Associations Alliance of Kenya, Justus Ngemu, who claimed that Sigei breached the law by issuing the licences while KECOBO had been operating without a full board for five years.