By Andrew Kariuki

Thomas Omanga and Timla Tieng, together with Safaricom Limited, have been named in a Ksh1.3 billion intellectual property dispute filed by Transcend Media Group Limited before the High Court in Nairobi.

The suit stems from a 2016 tender for creative and digital advertising services, where Transcend Media Group (TMG) presented a youth-targeted concept dubbed “Next Nation.”

Court filings indicate that TMG was later notified it had not secured the tender, without being informed who had won the bid.

The company says it later established that Saracen Media Kenya Limited had been awarded the contract and proceeded to launch the “Blaze Kenya” campaign, which TMG claims closely mirrors its original concept.

At the core of the dispute are claims that Omanga and Tieng, who were senior employees at TMG at the time, participated in developing the competing bid while still employed by the firm and actively involved in its tender submission.

TMG further alleges that Safaricom officials had knowledge of, and facilitated, this arrangement during the procurement process. Documents filed in court point to internal communication suggesting coordination between Safaricom staff and external agencies while the tender process was still ongoing.

The company also raises concerns over procurement integrity, alleging that one official assisted a rival bidder in structuring its financial proposal, while another insisted on the inclusion of individuals still employed by TMG in a competing consortium.

TMG maintains that its confidential and proprietary material was used without authorization, amounting to copyright infringement, breach of fiduciary duty and unlawful inducement.

In its pleadings, the firm argues that the resemblance between “Next Nation” and “Blaze Kenya” was not coincidental but a result of “deliberate use of confidential and copyrighted material.”

The company is seeking more than Ksh1.3 billion in damages, citing lost business opportunities, reputational damage and costs linked to multiple tenders dating back to 2013.

The case also references earlier tenders in 2013 and 2014, which TMG claims were marred by similar irregularities, suggesting a pattern in the procurement process.

Forensic assessments, including those conducted by the Kenya Copyright Board, are cited as indicating that parts of the disputed campaign were derived from TMG’s registered works.

The matter is expected to proceed to full hearing, where the court will examine procurement conduct, the role of the individuals involved and the handling of electronic evidence in determining liability.