Boniface Mwangi, Martha Karua win two-year court battle against graffiti artist

A legal battle pitting activist Boniface Mwangi against a former friend and colleague has ended with the plaintiff losing the intellectual property case.

City lawyer James WaNjeri said the plaintiff, who is a renowned graffiti artist, claimed that she had graffiti-painted the perimeter walls of a private premises that was accessible to the public.

According to her, they agreed with the landlord that anyone who used the premises for shoots would compensate her, but then Mwangi and his crew went ahead to shoot a music video for the political song 'Heko Mama' in honour of Narc Kenya party leader Martha Karua without compensating her.

The graffiti artist, Nancy Chelagat Cherwon, sued for Kshs.300,000.

WaNjeri added that, despite going the legal way, the agreement with the landlord was never produced in court.

"It was an oral agreement and the court had no way of determining if what she said was true. She also did not call any other witnesses to corroborate her claim," he said.

"The landlord did not inform my client of the arrangement it had with the Artist, so he had no way of knowing. The fact that the owner of the premises granted permission for my client’s use was sufficient in the eyes of the court."

The lawyer added: "Additionally, the court also held that the art was an incidental inclusion. It was not the main feature of the video my client recorded since it was appearing in the background."

Two years after the video was published, the courts have now ruled in favor of Boniface Mwangi, noting that the graffiti artistry was never intended to be the primary focus of the video's creators.

Reacting to the developments, Mwangi took to his X account to narrate the genesis of the litigation, revealing that the artist in question was actually an old friend of his but had refused to amicably resolve the matter out of court.

He wrote: "I was sued by someone l knew, mentored, and gave work while l was @Pawa254, and even after l left. She is very talented. Her work appeared accidentally in a campaign video we had paid over 500,000/- to produce."

"We had all the receipts for payments done including the location licensing where she had done some graffiti. As an artist, l ensured we paid for everything because l understand the exploitation that happens in the industry."

Mwangi went on to say that even though he was willing to pay her a substantial amount since they were friends, the artist still refused his offer, preferring to let all communication be handled by her lawyer.

"All she had to do was to call/text me after the video came out, and l would have advised the beneficiary of the video to pay her as a token of appreciation, after all, we had already paid for everything," he noted.

"It was campaign season when we shot the video, and truth be told, the money to pay her would have been found. No one wants to be sued when they're running for office."

Looking at the outcome of the court case, Mwangi regretted his erstwhile friend's choices, revealing that she had not only lost the case - but him too, as a friend.

"She lost the case and a friend in the process. The money we would have paid her will go to lawyers. Now she is no longer a friend but someone l used to know," he concluded.

The video in question is 'Heko Mama', a music video done in celebration of Martha Karua's then unveiling as the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition party's running mate. She was to deputise Raila Odinga in the event the duo clinched the Presidency.

The music video, which features a motley crew of some popular Kenyan artists and content creators, including Fena Gitu, Grace Mwai and Wachira Nyokabi, was shot at 209 State House Road, a private location normally used for video productions.

At around minute 1.35 and again at minute 3:16, dancers can be seen dancing at the forefront of the contentious graffiti. The dance sequences don't last too long in the video as the producers move on to several other shots which don't necessarily include the graffiti-filled wall.

The video was published on June 30, 2022 and – at the time of publishing - had slightly over 6,000 YouTube views.

In the case, Ms. Cherwon, the graffiti artist, also sued Karua, musicians Otile Brown and Arrow Bwoy, as well as Highlands Drinks Limited and 209 State House Road.