Cabinet Secretary for Gender, Culture, The Arts and Heritage, Aisha Jumwa is now calling for a speedy probe into the alleged mismanagement of funds collected as royalties by the Music Copyright Society of Kenya, (MCSK).
In a statement on Thursday following a meeting with the Kenya Copyright Board chairperson Joshua Kutuny and CEO Edward Sigei, Jumwa said royalties are a source of income for Kenyan artists and that it is good for those responsible to be accountable.
"I emphasized on the need for accountability in the sector especially on the royalties that are a source of income for thousands of artists in the country," she said.
"I wish to urge investigative agencies to expedite their investigations into alleged mismanagement of funds at the Music Copyright Society of Kenya."
The CS said that during the meeting, they also discussed the performance of all licenced Collective Management Organisations, and also agreed on the need to involve all stakeholders in the proposed changes to the Copyright Act.
She also noted that a collection of royalties may be included in the eCitizen system.
Jumwa's remarks come after Kecobo chair Joshua Kutuny invited the EACC and DCI to probe what he termed as the disparity in amounts declared by the three Collective Management Organisations (CMOs).
Kutuny claimed that the Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK), Kenya Association of Music Producers (KAMP) and Performers Rights Society of Kenya (PRISK) jointly collected Sh249,687,212.80 in royalties but there were disparities in amounts declared by individual entities.
According to Kutuny, the MCSK presented a list of members who received royalties in 2023 but on review, the Board of Directors found the information presented was scanty and at variance with details on joint collection.
“In view of the above, I directed that the matter be handed over to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) for investigations. The letters to those two institutions’ CEOs have been prepared and dispatched,” Kutuny affirmed.
MCSK came under criticism over royalties paid out to artists in 2023 which some artistes termed as peanuts and not commensurate to their work.
Agency boss Ezekiel Mutua defended the board from allegations of embezzlement of funds saying a document shared online by one of the artistes purporting to show that the board collected Sh109 million but distributed only Sh10 million was fabricated and malicious.
"A few weeks ago the same people circulating fake documents on social media were here claiming that MCSK was going to pay artists Sh1250. We proved them wrong and used a scientific distribution method that saw the highest earner get Sh757,000. Now they are back with fake documents," Mutua said on X on February 6.