Music group Matata has won a copyright dispute against DJ and producer Kelvin Njogu Murimi, popularly known as DJ Keville, over the ownership of the hit song ‘Mpishi (Aiyaya)’.
In a ruling delivered on July 30 by the Copyright Tribunal of Kenya, the five-member bench chaired by Hon. Elizabeth Lenjo affirmed that Matata Creatives are the original authors and copyright holders of ‘Mpishi (Aiyaya)’ effectively dismissing claims by the respondent that the track infringed on his earlier work ‘Bum Dum Riddim’.
The case, stemmed from a copyright takedown notice initiated by DJ Keville on YouTube in April 2025, which led to the scheduled removal of the ‘Mpish’ lyric video.
Matata responded by filing a formal complaint at the Tribunal, asserting that the claims were baseless and intended to damage their reputation and disrupt the song’s distribution.
The Tribunal found that both parties had valid copyright registrations—Matata for ‘Mpishi (Aiyaya)’ and DJ Keville for ‘Keville Beats’.
However, the Tribunal concluded that Matata’s song was produced and finalised two months before the date DJ Keville claimed to have shared his beat, making it unlikely that the band copied his work.
“No proscribed conduct was undertaken by the Claimants. We are not satisfied that the Claimants had any access to the Respondent’s work, which appears to have been shared if at all, after the Claimants’ own work was already completed,” the Tribunal stated.
The ruling directed DJ Keville to withdraw any copyright strikes or takedown requests from YouTube within 48 hours, failing which YouTube must resolve the matter in Matata’s favour.
A permanent injunction was also issued barring the respondent from filing future copyright complaints regarding the song.
Both parties were ordered to bear their own legal costs.