Oscar Award winner Lupita Nyong’o has criticised Kenyans who buy pirated music and movies instead of buying genuine copies released by artistes.
In a Facebook post, the actress urged Kenyans to show support to artistes by buying genuine songs and going to theatres to watch movies.
In Kenya, latest movies, songs and television series are downloaded from the internet by entrepreneurs who sell them to the public in DVDs at a cost of Sh50 each.
Kenya Copyright Board is reviewing copyright law to make sentences harsher for people found guilty of infringing copyright law.
The Board said it is reviewing the Act that came into place in 2003, to have stiffer penalties.
It is proposing doing away with maximum fines as spelt in the law and instead pegging the fines to the worth of the materials that are being pirated.
Currently the law has Sh800,000 and a jail term of ten years as the highest penalties for offenders.
Making copies of books, movies and music albums are among the most common forms of copyright theft in the country.