'The Polygamist' author Sue Nyathi raises alarm over pirated copies of her book in Nairobi

Taking to social media, Ms Nyathi warned her followers against buying the pirated copies being sold on Ronald Ngala Street, urging them not to participate in piracy.

She said she is working hard to make legitimate copies of her book available through a legitimate distributor in Kenya.

The Netflix series has been at the top of the Top 10 list in Kenya and in 12 other countries, including Romania, Slovakia, The Bahamas, Jamaica, Nigeria, South Africa and more.

"There are pirated copies of #ThePolygamist being sold at Affordable Books in Nairobi along Ronald Ngala Street," she tweeted.

"I know the book is in demand & I'm working to make it available there through a reputable supplier. Copyright infringement is a crime. Don't support the violation!"

The author’s comments have since sparked debate in the publishing community, with many noting that Nairobi “has a pirating problem".

Echoing Ms Nyathi’s comments, Kenyan author Sakwah Ongoma said it “hurts’ to find pirated African books.

“Kenya has a book piracy problem. The government knows. Pirated books are sold openly on the streets of Nairobi,” Mr Ongoma said. “It hurts me the most when I find African books pirated on the streets of Nairobi.”

While no Kenyan distributor is currently authorised to sell the book, an original copy of ‘The Polygamist’ is available to purchase on Amazon for Ksh. 1,124.

The Kenya Copyright Board, the State Corporation established under the Copyright Act to administer and enforce copyright and related rights in Kenya, has urged Ms Nyathi to file an official complaint in order to curb the piracy of her book.

Sue Nyathi, a Bulawayo-born investment analyst, self-published her debut novel in 2012 after a string of rejections from mainstream publishers across South Africa and Zimbabwe.

On June 12, Netflix released all twenty-two episodes of The Polygamist.

Within a week, the show had accumulated 19.1 million viewing hours and debuted at number four on Netflix’s global non-English TV chart, before climbing as high as number three.