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High court: MCSK allowed to collect royalties without Kecobo licence
The Copyright Tribunal issued a temporary injunction barring the Kecobo from preventing the MCSK from collecting and distributing royalties, pending the outcome of a legal appeal.
The long-running legal tug-of-war between the Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) and the Kenya Copyright Board (Kecobo) has taken yet another twist.
Just a week after the Copyright Tribunal lifted an order that had shielded MCSK from Kecobo’s enforcement actions, the Lodwar High Court has now granted the music body temporary permission to continue collecting and distributing royalties even without a valid operating license from the regulator.
The ruling, delivered this week, followed a fresh suit filed by two MCSK members, Ibrahim Yusuf and Jalinga Ekai Alfred, who moved to court challenging Kecobo’s decision to deny the society a renewal of its operational license.
In its interim orders, the Lodwar court certified the case as urgent and allowed MCSK to continue executing its functions pending a hearing and determination.
“The court has perused the Notice of Motion dated 4.11.2025 filed under certificate of urgency and certifies the same as urgent,” read part of the ruling. “Having been so satisfied, the court grants the applicants interim conservatory orders in terms of prayers 1, 2 and 5 of the Notice of Motion.”
The orders effectively give MCSK the green light to collect and distribute royalties on behalf of its 16,000 members despite lacking an active Kecobo license, a decision likely to further inflame tensions between the two institutions.
MCSK’s petition seeks a declaration that Kecobo’s refusal to issue it an operational license for the 2025/2026 period is unconstitutional, unlawful, and invalid.
The society also wants the court to compel Kecobo to reinstate its license and set aside the revocation decision.
The latest twist follows months of escalating friction.
In September 2025, Kecobo invited applications from Collective Management Organisations (CMOs) seeking license renewals.
Six CMOs, including MCSK, submitted bids. After a public participation exercise and internal review, Kecobo renewed licenses for only two: the Kenya Association of Music Producers (KAMP) and the Performing and Audio Visual Rights Society of Kenya (PAVRISK), leaving out MCSK.
MCSK promptly filed a case at the Copyright Tribunal, which initially issued temporary orders barring Kecobo from stopping the society’s operations.
However, two weeks ago, the Tribunal vacated those orders, effectively reinstating KECOBO’s authority over the unlicensed society.
That setback pushed MCSK back to the trenches until the Lodwar High Court’s intervention restored its operating space, at least for now.
The matter is set for an inter partes hearing on December 5, 2025, when both sides will present written submissions.
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