Eddy Kenzo has vowed to ensure that the long-awaited copyright amendment law will be enacted before the end of this year, citing his renewed relationship with the government and President Yoweri Museveni as a driving force.
“I assure you that we are likely to have a copyright law before Christmas,” Kenzo declared at the weekly UNMF jam session.
The Copyright and Neighboring Rights Amendment Bill, designed to provide better rewards for artists for their creations, was initially drafted by Mawokota North MP Hilary Kiyaga, also known as Dr. Hilderman, back in 2022. However, the bill encountered numerous setbacks and was subsequently shelved amid disagreements with executive members.
Following his recent appointment by President Yoweri Museveni as the presidential advisor on creatives, Kenzo believes there is now genuine hope for the bill to pass. He told fellow musicians last night that the president has instructed that discussions continue between the artists and the executive to resolve the lingering points of contention in the bill.
“The president has given us a couple of weeks, and we are going back to meet him to discuss and resolve the remaining sticky issues. We shall discuss this at State House,” he said.
“The copyright law had failed for years because people were only quarreling. Now, we have adopted a different approach to these deliberations, and it is working.”
Kenzo also defended his decision to openly support President Yoweri Museveni and the NRM government, emphasizing that it is his right to do so.
“The fact is, there is no one else we can engage with to improve our situation, but the government which runs this country,” he stressed. “They are the ones who make policies. If you say we should not go there, it means you don’t care about us.”
“If I wake up and say I support Museveni, there is nothing wrong with that. You are also free to support whoever you want. There is a law that allows me to have a choice, especially now that he has decided to uplift us, the poor people, from the ground. Now, I like him even more,” he added.
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