But now, it’s getting deeper as some African musicians have begun to accuse Shakira of plagiarizing the rhythm and lyrics of Waka Waka, and are demanding compensation for copyright infringement.

First, the Cameroonian mid-80s musical group Golden Sounds (now called Zangalewa) publicly accused Shakira of using without permission their 1985 title “Zangalewa”, which now sounds “Saminamina” in Shakira’s remix.

Speaking to the Cameroonian publication Cameroonechoes, Golden Sounds’ member Jean Paul Zé Bella said they were shocked to hear their song on radio and television being performed by Shakira at the World Cup, but it also brought pride and recognition to them.

“Shakira is a world-class artiste, and watching her perform our song is a great honour but they needed to take permission from us first,” Zé Bella said. “Now that it has happened, we need our share of the sales and rights, and we have started the procedure right from Cameroon to South Africa.”

Immediately after Golden Sounds’ proclamation, another African singer this time from Cote D’Ivoire - Kéké Kassiry – said Waka Waka belonged to him originally. In an interview with Ivorian newspaper Notre Voie, Kassiry declared that he recorded his version in 1986 and duly registered its right with a copyright society in France.

“The song remixed by Shakira was in my 1986 album titled “Abidjan”. It was recorded in Paris and still clearly bears my name as the copyright owner at la Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique (Sacem) (the society of authors and composers of music) in France,” Kassiry said.

“The Cameroonian group Golden Sounds is also claiming right to the song, but I have the proofs that I was the first to record that song. However, I have contacted Golden Sounds and we’re in the process of sorting this out so Shakira and her producers pay us our due share,” he said.

But the song “Zangalewa” actually was not originated by these copyright claimants. According to Golden Sounds’ Zé Bella himself, it was a marshal chant sung by Cameroonian sharpshooters during the Second World War. But it had remained a folk-song until they (Golden Sounds) waxed it into a regular studio album.

Zé Bella also confirmed that Shakira was not the first artiste to remix that song, that it was first heard outside Cameroon when an American studio adopted it as soundtrack for one of its films.

This is not the first time Cameroonian musicians are having brouhaha with the Western showbiz. Popular jazz artiste from Cameroon Manu Dibango had once accused the late Michael Jackson and Rihanna for using without permission his refrain “Oh se nu samana tu sa,” from Dibango’s “Soul Makossa” album released in the early 80s, according to Jeune Africque and French national radio RFI.