Facing the music or is it a figment of imagination?

NAIROBI: John Maina writes he and his cronies were driving through Ahero, on the Kisumu-Nairobi highway, when they were accosted by police who made a very startling demand: They wanted to see their Public Performance Licence from the Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) for their private double-cabin van. And for good measure, the MCSK folks were in tow.

After a protracted argument that their van was private, not public, and that they were willing to turn off the radio set in their possession, if the entertainment was a breach of the law, they were told they could only leave after paying a fine of Sh3,500 for the offence.

They paid the “fine” grudgingly as they feared it’s one of those illegal fines surcharged on unsuspecting Kenyans.

Only last month, it came to light that those caught speeding were paying higher fines of up to Sh10,000 when the legal statutes only permit a surcharge of only Sh500.

Even worse, most of the fines are never remitted to the government but retained by rogue police officers.

Which is why Maina is seeking MCSK’s reassurance that his money did not end up with rent-seekers or even worse, that he need not have paid in the first place.

Whatever the case, who is going to educate Kenyans?