Members of Kenyan boyband Sauti Sol take a selfie during a past event in Nairobi. Inset: Nominated Senator Crystal Asige.
They were both making baby steps in their careers in 2018, unknowingly toddling towards each other as per Lady Destiny’s near-perfect script.
Crystal Asige’s section on YouTube, dubbed Blind girl manenos, had turned the Mombasa-born woman into a regular in several corporate events where she inspired hundreds with a clear message – the only limits human beings have are those they set for themselves.
In that 10-year chapter of Ms Asige’s life, she had lost her sight to the effects of Glaucoma, an eye condition brought about by damage to the optic nerve.
But the condition that made her life a bit more difficult also made it easier by putting enough money in her pocket and ensuring that the then 28-year-old moved up Maslow’s hierarchy beyond basic survival. She is now a nominated member of the Senate.
Many times when Ms Asige would make the 488-km trip to the capital, she would give a heads-up to Bien Aime Baraza and Moriasi Omambia.
Mr Baraza was at the time one quarter of the already legendary boy band, Sauti Sol.
Mr Omambia was a seasoned lawyer who had cut a niche in the intellectual property space. He is the general counsel and head of business affairs at Sol Generation.
Musician Chimano (centre) performs with his dancers during Blankets and Wine event at Laureate Gardens in Nairobi on September 28, 2025.
Mr Baraza and his bandmates – Polycarp Otieno, Willis Chimano and Delvin Savara Mudigi – formed Sauti Sol in 2005 as an acapella group.
In several meetings with Mr Baraza and Mr Omambia, it emerged that Sauti Sol’s members were trying to go to the next level by forming a record label.
And Ms Asige was critical to this plan as she would be one of the headline female artistes.
Crystal Asige during the launch of 'Musings' memoir at Nairobi Chapel, Ngong Road, on December 3, 2024.
On May 27, 2019, Sol Generation landed and did it big by releasing a song titled Extravaganza. Lending their voices and instruments to the song were Sauti Sol, Ms Asige, Bensoul, Nviiri the Storyteller and Kaskazini.
The label-launch became a viral earworm, infecting the East African population with an urge to dance and karaoke. Radio stations played the song on loop. DJs used the song to get crowds charged.
A match scripted in the stars was playing out in the eyes of ordinary mortals, and all indications were that this new label would rule the airwaves while making its members wealthy.
But six years later, Ms Asige and Sol Generation have fallen out.
And the fall has now dragged in Dutch airline KLM and the world’s most successful streaming site, Netflix, as Ms Asige seeks millions in compensation for use of creative works she was critical in creating.
Last Wednesday in court, Sauti Sol admitted that Ms Asige did not have a written contract with Sol Generation when the record label signed a Sh4.6 million deal with KLM.
The one-year deal gave KLM exclusive and unfettered rights to use the musical works of Sol Generation in advertising campaigns.
As part of the collaboration, BenSoul, Kaskazini, Nviiri The Storyteller, and Crystal Asige produced a six-track album titled ‘1919 to Forever’ to commemorate KLM's centenary.
The partnership was inked on September 12, 2019, barely two months before Sol Generation terminated its relationship with Crystal after their working relationship collapsed.
In 2022, Ms Asige sued Sol Generation, the Sauti Sol band members and KLM for using her musical works without permission and failing to pay her for the same.
Crystal Asige performs during KLM's 100th anniversary celebrations at Trademark Hotel on October 9, 2019.
The Senator wants Sauti Sol, Sol Generation, and KLM to provide full disclosure of all royalties and revenue generated from 'Lenga,' 'Mbali,' 'Extravaganza,' 'Intro,' and 'Favourite Song' from 2019 to the present, and to award general and exemplary damages amounting to millions.
Beyond the album dispute, the Senator also alleges that Sol Generation profited from a synchronisation deal for the song 'Extravaganza,' which featured prominently in various advertisements and the 2022 Netflix film 'Country Queen' yet she hasn't received a single shilling to date.
"On the Country Queen agreement, every songwriter was duly credited, but we are yet to earn anything from that synchronisation deal until this matter is resolved," Mr Omambia said.
Lawyers representing Ms Asige told the court in filings that the artiste has never received a cent in royalties or any monetary compensation from Sol Generation despite the record label minting millions from granting third parties like KLM and Netflix rights to use songs that she helped create.
Testifying before the High Court in November 2024, Ms Asige said she was dismissed on November 7, 2019, after Sol Generation told her it was “flat broke with no resources to retain her."
She returned to the witness stand last week, reiterating claims that she has never received royalties for her contributions to several hit songs, including Extravaganza, Favorite Song, Rhumba Japani, Ukiwa Mbali, and Lenga.
Central to her case is the claim that she received no royalties or residuals from the KLM deal for her work on Lenga, a deal she alleges she knew nothing about until after her dismissal.
Crystal maintains she only discovered the Sol Generation-KLM agreement in late November 2019, around the time she was let go.
Ms Asige said she was denied access to Sol Generation-KLM contract, and has accused the label of illegally acting on her behalf.
“There wasn’t a written agreement,” Mr Omambia said when asked whether Sol Generation had a written deal to represent Ms Asige in the KLM deal.
“But there was a verbal one. We had ongoing discussions with Crystal, and even with you,” Mr Omambia added.
Ms Asige’s lawyers have questioned how a verbal agreement could be used to enter into a multimillion-shilling deal involving creative works, which are now at the heart of the dispute.
Omambia said Ms Asige was offered an artist development agreement, but declined to sign it. He further argued that the artists were verbally briefed on the KLM project and consented to participate.
"There was full disclosure and mutual understanding of the obligations. We had discussions on the KLM partnership with the artistes themselves, and it was agreed that the said obligations in the partnership agreement were respected not just by us but with the artistes themselves, and that is why we went ahead. While there were no signed documents or split sheets, the artists performed their roles in terms of shooting the music videos and eventually the handover of the musical works to KLM,” Mr Omambia said in court.
Mr Omambia maintained that despite the fallout with Crystal, Sol Generation, as the holder of the master rights, had the legal authority to commercially exploit the music.
He added that engaging with Ms Asige became difficult, claiming that she was uncooperative towards the end of their relationship, and that “she wasn’t speaking to anyone,”.
Ms Asige has told the court that she was hesitant to sign that deal as it meant surrendering all her rights to Sol Generation.
A meeting she requested to negotiate a recording deal allegedly flopped because of Sauti Sol’s busy schedule.
“I made several efforts to have a meeting with the ‘boys’ (Sauti Sol), to have an agreement of some sort so that I can work knowing I have that safety net, but no recording contract was given to me. Instead, I received an artist development agreement which offered to give me artist development on training and things of that nature to develop me as an artist. In exchange, it requested 360 of my rights, which meant I would give up all of my rights to the label,” Ms Asige said.
Crystal Asige also asserted that she has never received any royalties from Intro, one of the 13 tracks featured on Midnight Train, Sauti Sol’s fifth and arguably most successful studio album, released in June 2020 under Universal Music Africa.
She accuses Bien of using lyrics she originally wrote and intended for herself, saying she presented the song to him merely for feedback.
Mr Baraza allegedly added a few of his own lines, recorded the track, and released it as part of Midnight Train album, all without her knowledge or consent.
Singer Crystal Asige.
In their defense, Mr Omambia told the court that the group does not own the rights to the album, which is wholly owned by Universal Music.
Ms Asige maintains that by the time she was let go from Sol Generation in 2019, there had never been any discussion to have Intro feature on Sauti Sol’s fifth album, Midnight Train.
Mr Omambia said that Ms Asige was, however, credited as a co-author of the song as Sol Generation told Universal Music of everyone who contributed to the musical works.
Mr Omambia said that Ms Asige’s dispute lies with Universal Music as the owner of the rights to commercialise the Midnight Train album.
He admitted that when Sauti Sol incorporated the song into the album, they neither informed Crystal nor sought her consent.
“The last royalty payment we received from Universal was a cheque two years ago. It’s not just Sauti Sol who received payment, but everyone who participated in the album. If the plaintiff didn’t receive any royalties, it’s her responsibility to follow up with her publisher of the song, who should, in turn, follow up with Universal. We don’t know who her publishers are. It’s not fair to claim we acted in bad faith if we hadn’t, we wouldn’t have informed Universal of her contribution and have her duly credited.”
Ms Asige’s lawyer questioned why it would be her responsibility to follow up with Universal Music when the works were handed over by Sol Generation.
Mr Omambia maintained that the prevailing atmosphere at the time precluded any meaningful discussion and that under such circumstances, directing Crystal to Universal seemed the prudent course.
Mr Omambia could not provide any evidence of communication Sol Generation had with Universal Music in relation to Ms Asige’s contribution, as he maintained that her being credited as a co-author was enough proof.
The hearing of the case continues in 2026.
Follow our WhatsApp channel for breaking news updates and more stories like this.
