City lawyer Danstan Omari, along with other legal representatives, convened a crucial meeting with the CEO of the Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK), Ezekiel Mutua.
The focal point of the discussion revolved around the controversial video songs of the artist known as Embarambamba.
The meeting, held at the office of Majority Whip Silvanus Osoro, saw Omari expressing the collective decision not to escalate the matter concerning Embarambamba’s content to court.
Omari emphasized his personal outreach to the artist, citing a commitment to assist him in navigating the challenges surrounding his artistic expression.
Highlighting Embarambamba’s extensive fan base of over 8 million globally, Omari underscored the potential legal repercussions if the artist’s content were to face a ban.
He suggested that such an action could lead to legal action from disgruntled fans against Ezekiel Mutua.
Moreover, the lawyers pledged to explore avenues to support Embarambamba while also refining his content, particularly addressing concerns raised by both MCSK and the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) regarding alleged vulgarity in his songs.
In a concurrent statement, Majority Whip Silvanus Osoro affirmed Embarambamba’s commitment to producing cleaner content moving forward.
He announced the lifting of the temporary ban on the artist’s content creation, enabling him to resume his artistic endeavors within acceptable boundaries.
Reflecting on the meeting, MCSK CEO Ezekiel Mutua echoed sentiments of offering a second chance to Embarambamba.
Drawing parallels to biblical narratives, Mutua expressed optimism in the potential for the artist’s transformation, with support from legal representatives and stakeholders.
Following the demand letter issued to Gospel artist, Embarambamba, over non-compliance with the Films and Stage Play Act Cap 222 of the Laws of Kenya, the Management of the KFCB on Monday, 4th March 2024, held a meeting with Embarambamba, at the KFCB Uchumi House offices in Nairobi.
Embarambamba was hard-pressed to explain why he had blatantly contravened Sections 4 (Part II) and 12 of the Cap 222 governing the creation, broadcasting, possession, distribution, and exhibition of audio-visual content in Kenya.
The artist was further put to task over the use of vulgarity, nudity, indecency, and violent dancing styles in his content, specifically in the ‘Niko Uchi’ song, among others.
As a result of the meeting, the Board has instructed Embarambamba to delete all offensive/indecent content (music videos) uploaded on his YouTube channel and other social media platforms within the remaining two (2) days of the demand notice, failure to which further legal action will be taken against him in line with Cap 222.
He was also directed to submit all his content (music videos) to KFCB for examination and classification for age appropriateness.
Embarambamba further was required to acquire a filming license from KFCB before embarking on any new productions, and submit the same for classification for age-appropriateness before exhibiting to the public.
While expressing remorse for the indecent content, Embarambamba agreed to adhere to the demands/advisory issued by the Board in the demand letter.
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