Popular Kenyan musical band Them Mushrooms has called out Disney for trademarking the Swahili phrase "hakuna matata".
More than 50,000 people have signed a petition accusing Disney of “colonialism and robbery”. The petition
precedes the release of the company’s
motion-capture
remake of 'The Lion King' next summer, which will be voiced by Beyoncé, Donald Glover
and
Chiwetel Ejiofor.
In a statement, a member of Mushrooms said: "We believe that there is a probable infringement on copyright in regards to the phrase 'Hakuna Matata', which forms the chorus to our song 'Kenya Hakuna Matata' a.k.a. 'Jambo Bwana' or simply 'Hakuna Matata'."
Adding: "We feel that this whole matter needs to be handled by an IP lawyer who is an expert in copyright law."
The band is composed of Teddy Kalanda, Henry Ndenge Saha and Ben Mutwiwa.
