Pizza firm sues musician over video recording

An international Pizza Delivery Company is embroiled in a row with a local musician over an alleged sexual explicit content video which was recorded at its premises in one of its branches within Nairobi.

Dominos Pizza and Coldstone Creameries through Om nom nom Limited sued Davis Ngalah Oreyo alias Ngalah the brand of the Yunasi musical group.

The Pizza Company wants the artist stopped from publishing, distributing, airing, posting, sharing, releasing or promoting a video he shot together with his team at its branch along Woodvale Groove in Westlands on Fortis building.

The Pizza Company also wants the deputy registrar of the High Court in Milimani Law Courts directed to keep the recorded video under ‘lock and key with restricted access only to the parties of the case’.

In the suit in which the Kenya Films Classification Board (KFCB) is listed as an interested party, they further want the musician stopped from promoting the video on his personal social media sites or any of his agents’.

According to the firm’s Human Resource training manager Katherine Njeru, the ‘Usilewe ndindindi’ hit group member had requested the company though their digital marketing coordinator Samantha Opondo for permission to record their music video at the said premises.

Ms Opondo had allowed them to do so on condition that the release of the final music video to the public was subject to their company’s director’s approval of its content and that it should exclusively promote as well as preserve the image of both the Pizza firm and the artist.

However the row between them arose when the directors objected to the use of the video on grounds that its contents are immoral, scandalous and damaging to their reputation.

Despite their recommendation, the artist went ahead to upload the said video on YouTube even before the approval as agreed and has emphatically insisted that he will release to the public as it is.

“We categorically affirm that it is our fundamental belief and opinion that the music video is immoral, wicked, scandalous and damaging to our name, we are persuaded that it is sexually explicit, full of suggestive sexual innuendo and wholly inappropriate for promoting a brand,” Ms Njeru said.

The company now accuses him of promoting the disputed music video on social media platforms showing his clear intent of releasing it to the public and that he has refused to heed to their formal demand of not doing so.

They also accuse him of refusing to edit parts of the video which are considered as bad and alleged that Ngalah the brand is now blackmailing them to stop questioning the whole process.

“We seek orders to prevent the artist from releasing the approximately three minutes and 20 seconds music video filmed at our Westlands branch in February pending the hearing and determination of this case because we believe it will permanently link us to the sexual content or promotion of immoral behavior hence tarnish our image,” Ms Njeru added.

The company insisted that whilst the artist wants his artistic creativity rights to be respected on the other hand they argue that the musician has already infringed on their right and would continue to do so if the music video is officially released.

In their court documents, they claim to have already taken their complaint before the Films board.

Their suit comes at a time when KFCB has banned advertisements and commercials that feature sexual innuendos and sexually suggestive scenes, alcoholic drinks, betting and gambling in a bid to preserve national values and morals.

The case will be heard on May 20.