HARARE – A 35 year-old deacon from the Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe (AFM) church who pirated a local gospel musician’s music has been jailed for one year.
Solomon Mbadzo of Glendale had initially been slapped with two years imprisonment before the court set aside one year on condition that he does not commit a similar offence within the coming five years.
Solomon had pirated gospel musician Clive Barangiro’s music and the former was convicted of contravening section 89 of the copyright and neighbouring act.
Harare magistrate Anita Tshuma slammed Solomon saying his offence of piracy was unique as it involved intellectual property as he took Barangiro’s music and reproduced it as his own.
The court added that musicians were suffering everyday composing their music whilst pirates reap where they would not have sown. Magistrate Tshuma added that it was also aggravated by the fact that Solomon had indicated that he was a church person, who headed the men’s fellowship.
The state led by prosecutor Fransisca Mukumbiri proved that sometime in February at 14 Robson Manyika and Inez Terrace, Solomon had gone to Heshi Mfeshi Records studio and he approached Proud Majora, a technician.
It was proved that Solomon told the court that he was representing AFM in a project and he requested Proud to duplicate and to surface print his music into CD’s from the master copy he was in possession of.
Agreed facts are that the CD was entitled New Generation Praise Team UZ Hymns but the whole CD contained Barangiro’s music. It is said that the technician then went on to produce 200 copies at Solomon’s request and he was given the CD’s.
While Barangiro was walking in town, he was shocked to hear his music being played on the street and when he went to enquire and requested to see the CD and he found that it contained his 15 songs but it (CD) was titled AFM Hymns by New Generation Praise Team UZ.