President William Ruto has attempted to trademark the saying, so companies that hastily etched the catchphrase "mambo ni matatu" alongside the hand holding the number "3" on their items will soon start stepping carefully.

When President Ruto warned "sugar cartels" sternly in August that they were to blame for the country's sugar industry's demise, the slogan quickly gained notoriety.

Ruto's attorney Adrian Kamotho Njenga submitted an application to the Kenya Industrial Property Institute (KIPI) to get the slogan and mark formally registered, which would make anyone using it subject to arrest for trademark violation.

Ruto has pushed for the slogan to be banned from use by companies in classes 25 (for a fashion business), 28 (gym and sporting activities), 35 (advertising), 41 (Education, entertainment, and cultural activities), and 45 (Personal and social services).


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According to intellectual property attorney Liz Lenjo, President Ruto must now utilize the catchphrase to secure exclusivity of the catchphrase, "provided he uses the phrase in these particular classes."

Since the laws will apply to branding in businesses, no one can be sued if they use the phrase during a speech, she continued.

"He cannot because you cannot exclude someone from speaking but if you were to brand your businesses in the classes outlined in this application then of course you'd be in trouble," she said.

"But again one would challenge and review whether he is actually using the mark because with Trademarks you have to use [them]."

Ms. Lenjo explained, however, that the phrase hasn't yet been registered because it needs to go through a 60-day promotional stage first.


"Within those 60 days any Kenyan who would like to object to that registration then they would do so as long as they have grounds then they would institute what we call an opposition to a trademark application, they make their case, then the registrar of trademark opposition would make a decision," she explained.

Ms. Lenjo claims that a trademark is an intellectual property right given to a brand that is uniquely used to identify a business and prohibits third parties from utilizing or branding their businesses similarly to the registered trademark.