The Minister of Youth, Abdallah Utumatwishima, is not pleased with people that are using their social media platforms to fuel the feud betweenThe Ben and Bruce Melodie, two of Rwanda's biggest artistes.

Utumatwishima recently took to X, formerly Twitter, to voice his concerns, calling on YouTubers and other social media influencers who make the tension the centre of their conversations to stop, saying hate is always an enemy of progress.

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"Although it might lift the vibes at the end of the week after the Trace Awards Rwanda 2023, but comparing Ben and Melodie is not good, spaces and YouTube channels that support hate are not good. These are some of the best musicians Rwanda has," the minister posted.

The recently appointed minister also said that the two artistes should consider organising a two-man show instead of fighting.

The feud recently took a turn when rumours started circulating that some people were trying to "sabotage" The Ben's concert in Bujumbura, Burundi - on October 1, and it was later claimed that Gael Karomba, commonly known as Coach Gael in the showbiz industry, was behind the plot.

It is said that Coach Gael, who manages Bruce Melodie, is currently demanding between $75,000 and $100,000 (between 75 and 100 million Frw) from The Ben, which is the crux of the problems between the two artistes.

Utumatwishima is the first government official to comment on the long-running issue.