From 2.5 million YouTube views, the Czars family paid royalties for Amka Ukatike

The family of the missing Kenyan musician, Czars (born Abdulkarim Mohammed), has received a glimmer of hope as they successfully secured his YouTube royalties for his hit single “Amka Ukatike” produced by Calif Records.

In collaboration with Ngomma, a music publishing company, Czars’ family managed to claim Sh 71,000 in royalties. This amount was obtained based on the song’s accumulated 2.5 million views over 12 years since its release on Calif Entertainment Africa Ltd’s YouTube page.

Thomas Mahondo, an official at Ngomma, explained that the request for the royalties was initiated by Czars’ family in February 2024. Once YouTube remitted the money, it was handed over to Czars’ father, Mzee Abdul Makasi, as Czars is currently unavailable.

Mzee Makasi expressed gratitude for the payment, despite it being less than expected, stating, “This is Czars’ sweat. I will keep it for him. The day he shows up, he will have at least Ks71,000 to start life with.”

Plans are underway to pursue royalties from Safaricom’s Skiza Tunes. Additionally, there are discussions about releasing new music by Czars, managed by Calif Records and Ngomma, with potential earnings for him in his absence.

Czars went missing at the age of 17 on October 13, 2006, and efforts to locate him, including significant expenditures by his father, have been ongoing.