Copywriting and marketing consultant Kwaj Dala has publicly accused Storymoja Publishers of failing to compensate him for a voice-over job, igniting a heated discussion on fair treatment of creatives in Kenya’s publishing industry.
Taking to Facebook, Kwaj Dala detailed his experience, alleging that Storymoja Publishers engaged him in June last year to record an audiobook for a children’s book titled The Matatu From Watamu.
According to his post, he was specifically chosen for his ability to perform in a Jamaican accent, which was the requirement for the project.
After successfully completing the recording, he was later summoned back to the studio on June 23rd for corrections.
He complied, assuming that all was in order and that he would receive his payment after 30 days, as per their contract.
However, when the 30-day period lapsed, no payment was forthcoming.
Upon reaching out to the producer on July 30th, he was informed that the project had been “paused,” and an update would be provided soon.
That update never came. Kwaj Dala followed up again on September 12th, only to be met with a shocking response the publishers had opted for a Kenyan accent instead and would therefore not be paying him.
“It hit me like a wet brick pon the balls,” Kwaj Dala expressed in his post, highlighting the frustration of being disregarded despite fulfilling his contractual obligations.
He insisted that Storymoja Publishers had changed the project’s requirements after he had already done the work, using it as an excuse not to compensate him.
Determined to get justice, Kwaj Dala sought legal advice and requested a copy of his contract and the recorded audio file from Storymoja Publishers.
Instead of providing these documents, the publisher invited him to their offices to “sort things out.”
According to him, this meeting was fruitless as they claimed they could not locate the contract he had signed.
“The guy (producer) who gave me the contract when I signed it began touching on top of the speakers, looking for a contract I’d signed three months earlier,” he wrote, describing the encounter as an attempt to frustrate him into giving up.
Following this experience, Kwaj Dala has vowed to expose Storymoja Publishers, warning other creatives against working with them.
“Don’t work with them. Avoid them. Whether they pay me or not, I just want y’all to know who they are because the nature of their work means they’ve gotta work with artists, and I don’t like how they carry us artists stupid,” he concluded.
