Gospel veteran and founding member Japheth Kasanga is back on the board of KAMP Copyright and Related Rights Limited after members of the music royalty body elected seven new directors at their annual general meeting at Daystar University on Wednesday, October 28.

The election comes two months after the Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO) upheld the suspension of KAMP's operating licence and ordered the collective management organisation to put in place a properly constituted board.

How members voted

Members cast paper ballots, with Geoffrey Kwatemba topping the poll on 895 votes, according to the Standard Group's TNX. He was followed by:

  • Monicah Kibayu, 824 votes
  • Antony Kyalo, 649 votes
  • Felix Ngutu, 574 votes
  • Johannes Mbaka, 526 votes
  • Gospel minister Victor Mbuvi, 412 votes
  • Japheth Kasanga, KAMP's founding member

The new board has only one woman, Kibayu, compared with four on the outgoing board chaired by Angela Ndambuki. It had not been announced by Friday who will chair the new team.

KAMP chief executive Maurice Okoth said the organisation had prepared for both electronic and physical voting but went with paper ballots because members preferred it. "We are the only CMO that has conducted a physical meeting in the last three years," he said.

Kasanga, who previously helped resolve licensing disputes involving the Music Copyright Society of Kenya before leaving the board over internal disagreements, sounded confident about his return. "I know the right buttons to press," he was quoted as saying.

A regulator's ultimatum

KAMP collects and distributes royalties on behalf of producers of sound recordings. In July, KECOBO suspended its licence for 90 days after reviewing its governance, finances, licensing and royalty administration, citing alleged breaches of the Copyright Act and the collective management regulations.

On August 24, the regulator kept the suspension in place, ordered directors whose tenure breached Section 46B of the Copyright Act to leave office, gave KAMP 30 days to elect a new board and directed that the CEO and other officers involved be suspended pending investigations, The Star reported at the time. KAMP said it supported regulation but wanted fairness and due process, and vowed to pursue legal remedies.

KECOBO also directed that royalties in KAMP's sectors be collected by the Performers and Audio-Visual Rights Society of Kenya (PAVRISK) through e-Citizen and held in a designated account until further directions.

Work ahead

The outgoing board under Ndambuki says it modernised rights management systems, grew membership and signed more than 20 reciprocal partnerships with foreign societies. The new directors inherit the task of restoring the licence, improving transparency in how royalties are collected and shared, and answering long-standing complaints from artists about payments for their music.

Photos: TNX/The Standard (courtesy); Dayron Villaverde via Wikimedia Commons (CC0); KAMP logo. Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.