Rapper Bamboo Awarded Sh4.5 Million in Safaricom Copyright Dispute

Former hip-hop artist turned businessman, Simon Kimani, known by his alias Bamboo, has emerged victorious in a lengthy legal battle against prominent telecommunications company Safaricom.

In a significant triumph for Bamboo, Safaricom is now obligated to pay him a substantial sum of Sh4.5 million due to copyright infringement.

Judge Asenath Nyaboke Ongeri, presiding over the case, delivered a comprehensive 36-page verdict.

The High Court, in its decision, has granted the acclaimed creator of the hit track “Usilete Compe,” Bamboo, the compensation of Sh4.5 million as general damages.

This compensation addresses the unauthorized utilization of Bamboo’s three songs—namely, “Mama Africa,” “Yes Indeed,” and “Move On”—which were unlawfully employed as Safaricom’s Skiza callback tunes.

One of Bamboo’s notable compositions, “Mama Africa,” featuring the globally recognized American-Senegalese singer and record producer Aliaune Damala, widely known as Akon, was composed, recorded, and released back in 2005.

Bamboo’s lawsuit was originally filed against Safaricom, as well as two premium rate service providers, Bensoft Interactive Limited—owned by software engineer Bernard Kioko—and the Nigerian-owned Mtech Communication Limited.

The latter had appointed William Kibiwot Chesire as its CEO.

The court documents outline Bamboo’s allegations against these three entities, accusing them of exploiting his intellectual property without his consent, thereby generating revenue while leaving him marginalized.

During the court proceedings, Bamboo emphasized his extensive involvement in the entertainment industry for over 15 years, with music as his primary profession sustaining his livelihood and professional growth.

Bamboo further highlighted the resources, both financial and otherwise, that he invested in creating, producing, promoting, and marketing his three musical works.

However, these efforts went uncompensated due to copyright infringement by Safaricom, Bernsoft, and Mtech.

Bamboo’s argument delved into the intricate process of song creation, including months spent on composing, production involving hiring producers and studios, and engaging mixing and mastering engineers—all of whom require payment.

The music is then meticulously marketed and distributed.

In terms of copyright infringement specifics, Bamboo presented evidence that Safaricom and Bernsoft collaboratively selected “Mama Africa” and “Yes Indeed.”

Safaricom, in tandem with Mtech, further utilized Bamboo’s third song, “Move On,” without obtaining his authorization.

Bamboo accused these entities of collectively reproducing, publishing, broadcasting, distributing, and selling his musical works commercially through Safaricom’s Skiza platforms, both online and through call-back services.

This exploitation, he argued, enabled them to benefit from his creations without seeking permission or making any effort to compensate him for the generated revenue.

Consequently, Bamboo asserted that he lost the exclusive rights to distribute his songs, resulting in significant losses in terms of royalties and the opportunity to market his music to other interested premium-rate service providers.

Notably, Bamboo cited a scenario involving telecom company Airtel Kenya, which abandoned negotiations upon discovering that the very songs they intended to adopt were already present on their competitor’s Skiza platform.

Bamboo provided insight into the online portal Skiza, revealing that the three songs were downloaded at a cost of 75 cents per song from 2009 until 2014.

However, following a demand notice from Bamboo’s legal team, the songs were eventually removed from the platform.

Despite Safaricom’s defense, where it claimed to have obtained the songs through agreements with third parties—Bensoft and Mtech—to supply musical content for Skiza tunes, the High Court found Safaricom, Bensoft, and Mtech culpable for copyright infringement.

The judgment underscored the companies’ failure to conduct due diligence in ensuring that the copyright owner had authorized the use of their intellectual property before implementation.

The ruling emphasized that the actions of these entities have negatively impacted Kenyan artists, leading to exploitation and financial hardship.

As a result, Judge Nyaboke ordered Safaricom, Bensoft, and Mtech to collectively compensate Bamboo with Sh4.5 million, in addition to covering the costs of the legal proceedings.

The verdict marks a significant milestone for Bamboo and underscores the importance of safeguarding artists’ rights within the creative industry.

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