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

By Kenneth Gachie Published on: October 15, 2024 05:01 (EAT) Narc Kenya party leader Martha Karua with activist Boniface Mwangi. PHOTO | COURTESY 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...