About four years after his tragic and untimely death, the family of late amapiano artist Mongezi Stuurman, who was more affectionately known as Mpura, are seeking answers for the whereabouts of approximately R300k worth of misappropriated royalty funds.
South Africa and the world of amapiano came to a standstill when news of the tragic death of two of the most promising amapiano acts, Killer Kau and Mpura, emerged after the duo succumbed to their injuries after an involvement in a car accident en route to a show in Rustenburg. Their deaths came as an absolute shock, not only due to their young age, but also the fact that they were both arguably in the prime of their music careers, as they were responsible for a number of songs that had the nation buzzing at the time.
It comes as no surprise that even in their death, both Mpura and Killer Kau’s legacy and impact continue to make their mark on the industry, as artists they worked with continue to reap the benefits of their collaborations. However, Mpura’s family have reportedly declared a legal war against several music labels for their infringement of their copyright, as well as failure to pay the royalties owed to them for his music.
Mpura’s family fights for justice over R300k royalties scam four years after his death
The family of the late amapiano artist Mpura, who tragically passed away in a car accident in 2021, is seeking justice after discovering that approximately R300,000 in royalties were… pic.twitter.com/7irqZoVtwY
— MDN NEWS (@MDNnewss) April 7, 2025
According to the family, who have appointed Vusi Leeuw to oversee matters on their behalf, an amapiano producer who goes by the name of Neo Makate, who is more popularly known as Macfowlen, is the mastermind behind a R300k scam that he almost got away with. Sunday World reports that Macfowlen unlawfully signed deals with record labels such as Universal Music and Def Jam Africa.
Under the impression that Mpura and other artists were signed under Macfowlen, these record labels paid the producer approximately R300k in royalties.
It is standard industry practice that UMG should have requested Waltz Music to provide contracts/agreements that prove the fact that Waltz Music had rights to the music and/or artists that they were committing to release with under UMG and any of its third parties,” reads a letter read by Sunday World.
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