Stanbic Bank faces refund suit over music festival fallout
Revellers film with their phones as Boyz II Men members Shawn Patrick Stockman (left). Nathan Bartholomew Morris (right) and Wanyá Jermaine Morris (Centre) perform at the highly publicised Stanbic Yetu Festival at Uhuru Gardens Nairobi on Saturday, June 10, 2023.
The High Court has allowed a case brought by the Consumer Federation of Kenya (Cofek) seeking to have Stanbic Bank refund revellers who attended the 'Stanbic Yetu Festival' on June 10, 2023, at Uhuru Gardens.
Hundreds of fans, who paid up to Sh30,000 for tickets, complained to Cofek about their negative experience, including alleged overcrowding, being rained on, poor sound quality and screens not working.
In dismissing the preliminary objections raised by the respondents, including Radio Africa, Homeboyz Entertainment, and Stanbic Bank, Justice Lawrence Mugambi said that the objections had not met the required legal threshold.
"From the foregoing analysis and guided by the cited law and principles, it is my humble take that the respondents' preliminary objections have not met the legal threshold of preliminary objection; hence, they must all fail and are hereby dismissed,” the High Court said.
A preliminary objection is raised to draw the court's attention to an important matter of law that could potentially dispose of the case without the need for the court to consider the merits.
The ''Stanbic Yetu Festival'', which had Sauti Sol and Boyz II Men bands performing, had VVIPs parting with Sh30,000 for a ticket. VIPs paid Sh15,000, while regular persons paid Sh8,000.
In the notice of motion filed on June 19, 2023, Cofek filed a petition against the organisers of the event.
Violated the rights of the consumers
The lobby group alleged that there was a substantial departure from what had been advertised, and hence, the respondents violated the rights of the consumers at the event.
“That this Honourable Court be pleased to order that 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Respondents refund revellers, being represented by the Petitioner, who paid for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Respondents event styled Stanbic Yetu Festival and which event was held on Saturday, June 10, 2023, within 14 days,” reads one of the orders sought by Cofek. Radio Africa, Homeboyz, and Stanbic Bank are the first, second, and third respondents respectively.
Following the filing of the petition, the respondents filed preliminary objections in court, seeking to have the court dismiss the case. In submissions in court, Radio Africa argued that the ticket holders had failed to exhaust internal dispute resolution mechanisms before heading to court.
"The application and petition are fatally defective as they relate to a contractual dispute between the individual ticket holder and the 1st respondent (Radio Africa), that are governed by arbitration to resolve any disputes," Radio Africa submitted.
Radio Africa also argued that Cofek lacked the locus standi (legal standing) to institute the petition on behalf of those who attended the Stanbic Yetu Festival, adding that Cofek is not a consumer.
On the other hand, Homeboyz Entertainment and Stanbic Bank Kenya submitted that the dispute in court was purely contractual; hence, the court did not have the jurisdiction to handle the matter.
In opposing the preliminary objections raised, Cofek told the court that it had the legal standing to institute the case before the court.
In resolving the issue of Cofek's locus standi, the court stated: "… it is clear that the petitioner who is convinced that consumer rights of ticket holders were violated by being given a raw deal from a highly publicised event can move this court to determine if there was an infringement of consumer rights under Article 46 by invoking Articles 22, 48, and 258 of the Constitution to the appropriate court."
Respondent's argument
Regarding the respondent's argument that the relationship with the ticket holders is contractual in nature, the court stated that for it to find that a contractual relationship existed, it must be convinced that there was a contract that governed the relationship between the parties to the relationship.
"The contractual procedure would only apply and bind parties to a contract. It has not been determined if the Petitioner and the 1st Respondent have that kind of relationship; it is subject to proof. The issue cannot be squared out through a preliminary objection," said Justice Mugambi.
Following the event, disgruntled attendees took to social media to lament as they felt short-changed. Many of the attendees complained of overcrowding, which resulted in many of the regular ticket holders getting rained on while they were outside. Others complained of poor sound quality and screens that were not working.
These complaints prompted Cofek to step in and invite formal complaints about the Stanbic Yetu Festival. Upon having enough complaints, Cofek filed a suit against the event organisers.
