In the list of Kenyans who lost mysteriously, never to be heard or seen again, one of them is rapper Abdulkarim Mohamed, popularly known as C’Zars.
The ‘Amka Ukatike’ hitmaker left his Bamburi home in Mombasa for a walk on a Friday afternoon on October 13, 2006, never to be traced.
At the time of his disappearance, the then 17-year-old rapper’s music career was not only at its peak but also made him the pride of Mombasa.
According to his father, Mzee Abdul Makasi, who spoke to UK-based entertainment and lifestyle journalist John Muchiri, C’Zars’ disappearance might have been caused by, among others, pressure from his music career.
Makasi says prior to C’Zars’ disappearance, he was battling the pressure to perform in his KCSE exams that were due in a week and an unfulfilled promise from her aunt to relocate to the UK for further studies and music.
The father suspects that C’zars’ performance in both music and school, which was the talk of the town, might have put his son under pressure.
“With his truancy cases, the media had already started focusing on his performance in school. Was he afraid that he would not perform well and disappoint his fans?” Muchiri writes.
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“I am a former musician, so I know the pressure that comes with fame. It was very easy for C’Zars to get into wrong company with his stardom. I just wanted to keep him on check,” Muchiri quotes Makasi.
Makasi further speculates his son’s rise to stardom had something to do with his disappearance as some of the top artists in the coastal region were jealous of it.
“No musician liked him out here in Mombasa, it was very evident. They all felt threatened by his instant success,” Makasi said.
In addition, C’Zars’ father says many unfulfilled promises, including relocating to the UK together with his cousins for studies and music, a trip down to South Africa, and a Ksh100,000 cash prize reward might have led to his son’s disappearance.
Some 17 years down the line, Makasi is still hopeful that his son will return home. He revealed investigations into C’Zars’ disappearance bore no fruits.
“Three governments later, no one cares anymore. He disappeared during President Kibaki’s term. I reported the case at Bamburi Police Station. The then Coast PPO, Mwangi King’ori, sent some officers to investigate the matter. Nothing came out of the investigations,” Makasi says.
“Even after all those painful days, I am still hopeful and waiting patiently. Either he shows up, or at least I get to know what happened to him,” he adds.
Prior to his disappearance, C’Zars had won several awards, including Chaguo la Teeniez and Fanta Pure Fresh Oxygen Talent Search.
His song Amka ukatike was an anthem that saw the Kilindini secondary school form four student share the stage with Jamaica’s Sean Paul, Tanzania’s Mr Blue, Amani, Redsan, CMB Prezzo, Jua Kali, Nameless, and many other artists.