In May, Safaricom and Airtel froze call ring back tune revenues after a court case challenged revenue sharing. The High Court has now ordered the two telecom firms to release the funds to artistes without delay.
Justice John Chigiti dismissed the petition and lifted the freeze. He directed the firms to pay all monies owed since May. “The interim orders are vacated. The first and second Interested Parties (Safaricom and Airtel) shall release all the funds held by them since the date of the grant of the interim orders to all the affected artistes to date forthwith,” he ruled.
Artistes Justus Ngemu and Saul Esikuri had filed the case. They sought enforcement of Section 30C of the Copyright Act, amended in 2022. The law entitles artistes to at least 52 percent of revenues. Telecom operators take 39.5 percent, while premium rate service providers (PRSPs) get 8.5 percent.
The petitioners argued that telecom firms should remit payments directly to artistes instead of using PRSPs. These providers connect telecoms with content creators and manage royalties for Skiza and Hello Tunes.
Justice Chigiti ruled that PRSPs are legally free to contract artistes. He said the law does not outlaw such agreements. He also faulted the petitioners for failing to include PRSPs in the case.
The judge warned that enforcing the petition would disrupt payments for many artistes not involved in the suit. He ordered Safaricom and Airtel to continue paying under the current system.
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