The Kenya Association of Music Producers (KAMP) Copyright and Related Limited suffered yet another blow yesterday after The Copyright Tribunal sitting in Nairobi upheld the decision of the Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO) to suspend its operational license for a period of three months in violation the copyright Act regulations.

The Tribunal, in a judgment which was read by Hon. Wilfred Lusi, a member of The Tribunal, and signed by the Tribunal Chairperson Hon Elizabeth Lenjo ruled that the decision taken by the regulator to suspend KAMP’s operating license was legally binding.

“This Tribunal finds that the respondent did not act ultra-vires. The supervision, inspection and or enquiry over the allegations against the appellant, culminating in the suspension, is within the respondent’s statutory mandate and therefore upheld”, the Tribunal ruled.

To safeguard the interests of copyright holder’s rights, the Tribunal directed KECOBO to conclude the commenced regulatory action and render a decision, either lifting the suspension or adopting any other or further regulatory action on or before the lapse of Seven (7) days from the date of the Tribunal’s ruling.

However, the Board has mandated PAVRISK to collect royalties for and on behalf of the rights ordinarily represented by KAMP within the sectors allocated to the plaintiff under the applicable licensing framework.

It also directed that all funds collected in respect of such right shall be deposited into a separate designated bank account, maintained independently from PAVRISK’s operational and distributable funds.

“The monies so collected shall be held in trust and shall not be distributed, transferred, applied or otherwise utilized for any purpose unless and until KECOBO issues further written directions regarding their management and distribution”, Kutuny said in the public notice.

This makes PAVRISK, which is listed in the appeal as an interested party as the only legitimate CMO mandated by the regulator in law to collect royalties and distribute them to music and Audio-Visual rights holders countrywide.

In July 2026, KECOBO suspended KAMP’s operating license after establishing that KShs. 5,514,559.16, which was meant to be distributed to its members, were spent on non-core activities contrary to the statutory obligations imposed on a licensed Collective Management Organization.

In a notice signed by KECOBO’s Board of Directors Chairman Joshua Kutuny, the Board cracked the whip following a comprehensive regulatory review of KAMP’s governance, financial management, licensing practices, royalty administration and regulatory compliance.

The regulator accused KAMP of failing to comply with the obligations arising from the consent signed in June last year between KAMP and Performing and Audio-Visual Rights Society of Kenya (PAVRISK) which was intended to harmonize licensing operations.

Dissatisfied by KECOBO’s decision, KAMP moved to the Copyright Tribunal and filed an appeal against KECOBO in the COPTA/E002/2026 case seeking the Tribunal’s intervention to over-turn the decision of the regulator that suspended its license, effective from 1st July 2026.

Yesterday, The Tribunal ordered KAMP to comply with the recommendations issued by KECOBO, failure to comply within the stipulated period may result in revocation of its operating license altogether.

Earlier, the Board had instructed KAMP to refund and fully account for all royalty monies found to have been diverted, misappropriated or otherwise improperly applied, including the sum of Shs. 5,514,559.I6 and provide documentary evidence demonstrating the restoration of the affected funds to the royalty distribution pool or such other account as KECOBO may direct.

It also ordered KAMP to conduct board elections in strict compliance with Sections 46 B of the Copyright Act, 2001 (Revised 2022) and the applicable provisions of the Copyright (Collective Management) Regulations, and submit the election results and governance records to KECOBO for verification.

KAMP has also been instructed to submit a comprehensive report to the regulator regarding the June 2026 royalty distribution, including the complete distribution logs, beneficiary schedules, usage data, allocation methodology, distribution formular, computation worksheets, approval records and all supporting documentation relied upon in determining the amounts distributed to each right holder.