Nyashinski wins court battle to block Tecno deal disclosure

Kenyan rapper Nyamari Ongegu, popularly known as Nyashinski, has secured a temporary court order stopping the disclosure of his multi-million shilling contract with smartphone giant Tecno.

The High Court granted the stay after he argued that revealing the contents of the agreement would breach confidentiality terms and risk exposing his trade secrets.

The endorsement deal, which was signed in May 2023, made Nyashinski the face of the Tecno Camon 20 brand.

The agreement has since become a point of legal contention after Nigerian producer Sam Are Eliapenda Jedidah sued Nyashinski, claiming a share of the earnings from the campaign.

Sam Are, who produced the hit song Wach Wach, which featured prominently in the Tecno deal, told the court he was entitled to part of the payout based on a publishing rights agreement.

While Nyashinski holds full master rights to the track, both parties had agreed to split publishing rights equally, as documented in a signed split sheet.

The producer filed a case before a Nairobi Magistrate's court seeking to compel the rapper to release the Tecno contract.

Sam Are argued that disclosing the agreement was necessary to fairly determine his copyright infringement claim and assess losses tied to his 50 percent publishing stake.

The magistrate court agreed with Sam Are and, on August 9, 2024, issued an order for Nyashinski to produce the endorsement contract.

Magistrate Selina Muchungi ruled that the contract was relevant and necessary for fair determination of the matter.

Nyashinski challenged the order by filing an appeal at the High Court on August 21, 2024.

He claimed the magistrate failed to consider that the contract was protected by a non-disclosure agreement between him and Tecno, and that Sam Are was not a party to it.

He also told the High Court that no safeguards had been put in place to protect his personal data, legal responsibilities, and brand reputation from potential misuse.

Nyashinski warned that exposing the details could subject him to blackmail, fraud, or exploitation.

"The musician also faulted the magistrate for incorrectly extending the scope of privity of contract," his appeal argued, "by allowing a third party to seek documents they have no right to access."

He insisted the endorsement contract was not central to the copyright case.

On April 30, 2025, High Court judge Antony Mrima agreed with Nyashinski’s position and halted the lower court’s order pending the outcome of the appeal.

"On a careful consideration of the application, there is no doubt that the Applicant (Nyashinski) stands to suffer loss if no orders are granted in the event the appeal succeeds," the judge ruled.

"Once the documents are released on discovery, then the process intimated to by the applicant will automatically be set in motion."

The case, however, remains active. In response, Sam Are maintained that seeing the Tecno contract was key to proving the value of his lost share from the promotional campaign.

He argued that although Nyashinski claimed there was no written contract, the endorsement clearly existed and involved heavy use of Wach Wach.

During the proceedings, Sam Are accused the rapper of being dishonest after he told the magistrate court there was no contract since he had received cash payments.