SafeBoda is facing a growing public relations headache after Ugandan musician Mark Mick accused the ride-hailing company of using his song “Safe Boda” in promotional content without paying him. Sources close to the matter say the musician is now demanding Shs400 million in compensation. The song, he says, has been used in the company’s promotional content in Uganda and, most recently, in its launch in Kenya.
According to Mark Mick, SafeBoda first approached him about licensing the track for a promotional campaign, with payment understood to be part of the deal. But he says that agreement was never finalized, and no payment ever came through despite the song already being used in the company’s promotional material.
For Mark Mick,the fight goes beyond the shillings. At its core, this is about dignity whether Ugandan musicians are treated as professionals whose work carries real value, or simply as convenient content for well-funded brands that expect exposure to count as payment.
He’s going public, he says, because staying quiet sets a dangerous precedent one where any company can lift an artist’s work first and negotiate never.
With a 400M UGX demand now attached to the dispute, the pressure on SafeBoda to respond has sharpened considerably. The ball is in the company’s court to explain its side and at this point, silence reads less like caution and more like an admission, to a public already primed to side with the artist.
As of publication, SafeBoda has not issued any public response to the allegations.