Justice Chacha Mwita rules hospital TV and music fees unconstitutional. [File, Standard]
A High Court judge has quashed regulations allowing copyright fees for playing music or showing television in hospitals, ruling the charges unconstitutional.
Justice Chacha Mwita issued the judgment on Monday, July 29, declaring that Legal Notice No. 84 of 2020 was invalid for violating constitutional requirements, including public participation and statutory consultation.
“The impugned Legal Notice is unconstitutional for failure to meet the requirements of the Constitution and the Statutory Instruments Act,” said Mwita.
The case was filed by The Mombasa Hospital, The Karen Hospital, Avenue Hospital, Nairobi Hospital and Aga Khan University Hospital. The petitioners challenged regulations published by the Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO), which introduced licence fees for audiovisual devices in healthcare settings.
They argued that KECOBO and copyright collecting agencies had imposed the fees without following proper legal procedure. The court found that the legal notice lacked consultation with the Attorney General and relevant stakeholders.
Justice Mwita ruled that the regulations were illegal, void and unenforceable. He also barred KECOBO from implementing or reintroducing the same provisions.
“Charging licence fees for televisions and radios in healthcare facilities based on the impugned Legal Notice is unconstitutional,” said Mwita.
The court issued a permanent order restraining KECOBO and any other agency from enforcing the annulled regulations.