OPPO Kenya is embroiled in a legal dispute following allegations from influencers, including Bernice Nunah and Flaqo, that they remain unpaid for their work on the Reno12 series campaign.
Flaqo stated his team attended OPPO Kenya’s AI event in August 2024 and delivered three months of promotional content within two weeks, but five months later, neither OPPO Kenya nor AIfluence had processed payment.
OPPO Kenya, in a statement, confirmed awareness of the influencers’ concerns, clarifying that AIfluence was responsible for managing influencer contracts, deliverables, and payments for the campaign.
OPPO maintains it fulfilled its financial obligations to AIfluence, making an initial 50% down payment at the campaign’s start and remitting the final 50% payment on October 25, 2024, upon work completion.
“It is important to note that all influencers in this campaign signed direct contracts with the agency and not OPPO Kenya. However, we deeply empathize with the affected influencers,” OPPO Kenya stated.
The company confirmed it communicated this information to the influencers and their managers, reiterating that all payments were made in full to AIfluence.
OPPO Kenya acknowledges that under Kenyan law, it has no legal grounds to take direct action against AIfluence on behalf of the influencers.
However, the company says it offered legal assistance, including covering legal fees, to any influencer wishing to pursue legal action against AIfluence.
“While OPPO Kenya has no legal basis to act against AIfluence on behalf of the influencers, we empathize with their situation. We have extended legal support, including covering legal fees, to those who wish to take legal action, but none have opted for this assistance,” OPPO Kenya clarified.
OPPO Kenya has now initiated its own legal proceedings against AIfluence, citing defamation and brand damage due to the agency’s failure to pay the influencers.
“OPPO Kenya does not condone the frustrations that influencers engaged in the Reno12 series campaign are facing. We remain fully committed to supporting any of the influencers affected by the current situation,” the company stated.
