Konshens, a Jamaican dancehall star, has won a lawsuit against Airtel Uganda, a telecommunications company, for using his songs without his consent.
The High Court in Kampala ruled on Tuesday that Airtel Uganda and its partner Onmobile Global Limited infringed on Konshens’ copyrights by distributing his songs as caller tunes to their subscribers without paying him any royalties.
The court ordered Airtel Uganda and Onmobile Global Limited to pay Konshens 667 million Ugandan shillings (about US$180,000 or J$27.7 million) as compensation for the damages caused by their actions.
The songs that were used by the defendants without Konshens’ permission include Simple Song, Jamaican Dance, Gyal a Bubble, No Retreat and others.
Konshens was represented by Kalenge Bwanika Kisubi and Company Advocates, who successfully argued that the defendants had unjustly enriched themselves from the plaintiff’s work.
Konshens expressed his satisfaction with the verdict on his social media platforms and thanked his fans for their support.
He also shared a video of himself performing one of his songs that was used by Airtel Uganda, saying “This is one of the songs they were selling in Uganda. Now they have to pay me for it.”
Konshens is one of the most popular dancehall artists in Jamaica and abroad, known for his hits like Bruk Off Yuh Back, Pull Up To Mi Bumper and Gal Ting. He has collaborated with other artists like Shaggy, Sean Paul and Chris Brown.