Ugandan musician James Ssewakiryanga, widely known as Ssewa Ssewa, has accused the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) of using his registered trademark “Janzi” on the Uganda Cranes’ playing kit without his consent.
Ssewa Ssewa claims that the word “JANZI”, which appears on the upper part of the national team jersey alongside the FUFA badge, is his protected intellectual property. He says the trademark was officially registered and safeguarded under the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) Harare Protocol.
For starters, the Janzi itself is a modern Ugandan musical instrument developed by Ssewa Ssewa in 2015. It is a 22-string chordophone inspired by the traditional adungu, and it is widely used by his Janzi Band to blend traditional Ugandan sounds with contemporary music.
According to the musician, he created the Janzi concept in Uganda and later registered it in October 2017. He maintains that the branding is legally protected and insists FUFA is using it on official sportswear without authorization.
He further criticized the football body for also warning the public against what it called counterfeit Janzi merchandise, arguing that it is wrong for a federation to use a name he says belongs to him. In his view, this amounts to infringement of his intellectual property rights.
“This is intellectual property theft. On Ugandan soil. Against a Ugandan creator,” he said in his remarks.
