Due to tensions between Rwanda and the DRC, Nigerian star Tems cancels his show in Kigali

Tems, a Nigerian Grammy winner, has declared that her next performance in Kigali has been canceled due to Rwanda’s backing of the M23 armed organization, which is now engaged in an operation in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Rwanda’s apparent support of the M23 rebels, who this week took over Goma, a major city in the mineral-rich eastern area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has drawn increasing international criticism.

The news was announced on X by Tems, whose actual name is Temilade Openiyi, who said that her March 22 engagement at BK Arena in Kigali had been canceled.

She stated, “I recently advertised my show in Rwanda without knowing that Rwanda and Congo are still at war.” “If it comes out as disrespectful to real-world concerns, I truly apologize. That is never my intention. I was just unaware that this was taking place. My sympathies are with those impacted.

According to a July study by UN experts, Rwanda has hundreds of troops in eastern DR Congo and retains “de facto control” over M23, supporting DR Congo’s long-standing accusation that Rwanda is inflaming the violence in the area to profit from its enormous mineral resources.

Rwanda has disputed these accusations on several occasions. The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a rebel organization founded by Hutu extremists who carried out the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, must be dissolved before the war can be ended, according to President Paul Kagame, who has denied direct military involvement.