Alikiba Sheds Light Why He Didn't Perform At Trace Awards

Ali Saleh Kiba, known as Alikiba, has revealed that he didn’t perform at the Trace Awards in Zanzibar. Speaking to Crown Media, he admitted that the event was poorly organised.

Alikiba explained that most people he met at Trace Awards as officials were different from those he expected to meet. He said that they were not fully prepared to manage the event since they gave him a hard time managing his time.

Alikiba also noted that since he loves live performances, he requested the event officials to get him a plan and time when he will be on the stage. In contrast, his time was set for the following day, but at the time of going to the stage, one of the officials told him that they were not going to do a live performance.

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“Nilitakiwa niimbe live nikaambiwa nipeleke track yangu kwa The Composers ili waweze kujua wataitumiaje, ila nilivyofika kwenye hoteli nikaambiwa ratiba yangu ya mazoezi ni kesho then nikaenda kula.

“Nimemaliza nikaambiwa ratiba yangu itakuwa ni baada ya masaa matatu mbele nikaona okay haina shida nikaenda. Tukaanza kujiandaa nimefika pale nikapigiwa simu na mtu (name witheld) kuwa Bwana hatufanyi Live tena.” Alikiba explained.

He said that after the turn of events, he decided to leave the place since he wasn’t pleased with how things were being managed. Additionally, he noted that in contrast to how Trace Awards runs its events, the event wasn’t organised by Trace but by other people.

“Na nadhani ile issue haikuwa organised na Trace kwa sababu kuna watu tu walikuwepo unaona kama ni mtego kabisa kila aliyekuwepo pale wanajua nikajua kabisa hapa kuna mtego” he added.

The Trace Awards event was held in early March 2025 in Zanzibar, where Kenya’s favourite singer Bien bagged a prestigious award as the Best Artiste in Eastern Africa.