KAMPALA (Reuters) - A row has broken out in Uganda over an attempt by President Yoweri Museveni to copyright a "rap" he performed that has become a smash hit on the African country's radio stations and in its nightclubs.
The ageing leader took to the stage at two party rallies over the last few months and performed two children's folk chants from his birthplace in Western Uganda - Naatema akati (I cut a stick) and Mp'enkoni (Give me the stick).
Record producers then began mixing the performance with hip-hop beats and audio of Museveni telling the crowd that young people had told him about rap music.
The song was named, "You want another rap?" after a question Museveni shouted at the rallies and it quickly began appearing for sale in capital Kampala.
The east African country is due to hold elections in February, seen as a test of democracy for the country. Museveni, a former cattle herder and student activist in power since 1986, could face his stiffest challenge yet if the opposition coalition holds together.
An application lodged by Museveni's lawyers for exclusive rights to the song has drawn fierce criticism from the president's opponents, some of whom say he is trying to cash-in on the huge number of Ugandans using it as a ringtone.
"Nobody, not the President, not me has the right to copyright folk chants," Mwambustya Ndebesa, a history lecturer at Kampala's Makerere University, told Reuters.
"They should belong to everybody, not be used for political capital."
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The ageing leader took to the stage at two party rallies over the last few months and performed two children's folk chants from his birthplace in Western Uganda - Naatema akati (I cut a stick) and Mp'enkoni (Give me the stick).
Record producers then began mixing the performance with hip-hop beats and audio of Museveni telling the crowd that young people had told him about rap music.
The song was named, "You want another rap?" after a question Museveni shouted at the rallies and it quickly began appearing for sale in capital Kampala.
The east African country is due to hold elections in February, seen as a test of democracy for the country. Museveni, a former cattle herder and student activist in power since 1986, could face his stiffest challenge yet if the opposition coalition holds together.
An application lodged by Museveni's lawyers for exclusive rights to the song has drawn fierce criticism from the president's opponents, some of whom say he is trying to cash-in on the huge number of Ugandans using it as a ringtone.
"Nobody, not the President, not me has the right to copyright folk chants," Mwambustya Ndebesa, a history lecturer at Kampala's Makerere University, told Reuters.
"They should belong to everybody, not be used for political capital."
� Continued...
The relations between First Quantum and the Democratic Republic of Congo have gone from bad to worse in recent months, after the country expropriated the miner’s $765 million Kolwezi copper tailings project in September. � Blog�
When some of the most influential figures in emerging markets finance spoke to a group of Reuters editors, they were asked about top picks for growth beyond the so-called BRIC countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China.� Blog�
The giggles started when the seventh journalist in a row said that his question was for Egypt’s water and irrigation minister, Mohamed Nasreddin Allam.� Blog�
It has debt levels to die for and huge amounts of oil, but economically it’s lagging and political concerns remain. Speakers at a Libyan trade and investment forum this week saw the North African country as a mixed bag.� Blog�
If Guinea can pull off free and fair elections this weekend, it will lay the foundations for what could be one of Africa’s most unexpected and significant good news stories.� Blog�
Africa is providing a lot of fine material for the London theatre these days.� Blog�
Watch Radio Stations Online
