It’s not unusual for event organisers to put names of popular artistes on posters advertising their shows. The aim is to lure gullible fans to turn up in big numbers at such shows. Indeed they turn up in big numbers after paying their hard earned money but to their shock, the artistes expected never show up.

A few weeks ago, Corona Space; an events management group, organised a concert dubbed "The Taste of Heaven.” The concert, which was scheduled to take place at the Kigali Convention Center excited many gospel revelers when the organisers announced that the popular Rehoboth Ministries would be one of the choirs that were lined up to perform.

As many thronged ticket sales spots, what they didn’t know at the time was that Rehoboth Ministries Choir was not even aware of the concert. In the end, most of the organizing committee members were apprehended over the scam and are still in police custody.

The president and legal representative of Rehoboth Ministries; Patrick Munini confirmed to The New Times that they indeed were never approached by the organisers and were completely unaware of the event.

"We have never had any interaction with ‘Corona Space’ event organisers. Rehoboth Ministries was never approached to be part of this event and the news came as a total surprise to all of us,” Munini says.

He said that what the organisers did was completely unprofessional and blamed them for duping the fans

"To include us in their event without prior agreement or even any contact was wrong. False information like this can create mistrust and has potential reputational risks to the Ministry,” he said.

Rehoboth Ministries is not an isolated case. The future of concerts and other entertainment shows in Rwanda are under threat of fraud. Should all the stakeholders let go or is this salvageable?

Artistes speak out

Singer Danny Ntakirutimana aka Danny Nanone says that the habit to do false advertising is hurtful and unfair to both the revelers and the hard working musicians.

"This is not good at all because it puts us in a difficult position with our fans and I think it’s about time musicians sat down and found a way of dealing with this. This must stop,” he said. 

He admits that though this has ever happened to him, he had not gone as far as reporting the fraud to the authorities.

"Just like with any other field, there are always enemies of progress and with our industry, that is stuff bound to happen but organisers should understand that this is extortion,” he adds.

Singer Jean Twagirayezu aka T-Rock Saxo is of the view that the organisers who do such are selfish because they are aware of what’s at stake especially on the artiste’s side.

"Such stunts can deeply affect an artiste’s image and it can make you lose your credibility since the fans don’t get to know what really transpired and only blame you for not showing up,” he said.

He says that though he has not yet been a victim of the vice, he would not hesitate to pursue justice if something like that ever happened to him.

"It has never happened to me, but if it ever does, I don’t think I will take such a matter lightly because that’s a serious risk to my reputation. My music is a business and I don’t entertain any threats to it,” Twagirayezu adds.

Rapper Pacifique Uzamberumwana aka Oda Paccy says that she has been a victim of this particular fraud on more than one occasion and she only got to learn about the concerts from fans.

She however thinks that serious measures need to be taken when such happens because it’s damaging to ones image. She urges fellow artistes not to be quick to run to authorities because at times such matters can be solved amicably.

"Not all things need to be solved in court. You could give that person a chance to explain and solve things politely. When it happened to me, I tried to talk to the concert organisers and we settled the issue amicably,” she said.

However, she believes that those who are not willing to comply should be fined heavily to discourage the spread of the vice. What the revellers say

Jackline Uwajeneza is a Kabeza resident. She says that events organisers should conduct business professionally instead of engaging in dirty tricks.She says that if such is to happen to her when she goes for a concert, she wouldn’t let matters go unhandled.

"It has never happened to me but if it ever does, I would make sure I organize fellow revelers to immediately protest against the organisers and press them hard to refund our money,” she said.

For Sandra Tumusiime, organisers shouldn’t make people pay for concerts because of a certain artiste yet they very well know that it’s a scam.

"If I find myself in a situation where an artiste I expected to come does not show up at all, I would just walk away but I would feel sad,” she says

Tumusiime however warns that this fraud can potentially cause problems since some revelers usually turn their anger into physical attacks.

"I’ve lived in Uganda for a long time and it is worse when such things happen there, revelers protest to the extent of fighting and breaking seats, damaging equipment and beating up the organisers,” she said.

The organisers’ stand on this

Remmy Lubega is the manager of RG-Consult Inc an event’s organising company that has made a name for itself for organizing the monthly Jazz Junction event at the Kigali Serena Hotel.

He says that the issue lies especially in the fact that some events organisers are unprofessional and also that they take their relationships with artistes for granted.  "I wouldn’t do something like that because first of all it’s not professional, secondly it’s damaging to my reputation as someone in this business and that of the artiste too. I wouldn’t want to destroy my relationship with performers and I most definitely wouldn’t want to be sued,” Lubega says.

Eric Karengera Kirenga commonly known as Eric Soul is an events’ organizer and the brain behind Afrogroove. He believes that such scenarios can happen for many different reasons adding that he tries to keep an open mind with these situations to understand what really happened rather than jumping to negative conclusions.

"Sometimes it is a problem of internal communication between an artiste and the organizing team. I specifically say organising team not the organiser as it can happen that a team member who was delegated to confirm or call an artist failed or forgot to follow up or even lied to his team that he did something to shift the blame away from him,” he says.

He believes however that such matters can be handled between both parties without escalating the situation through a simple and clear conversation.

"I think it is better to be entirely sure, to double check all the facts. It is rare that the intention was to deliberately exploit an artiste’s image,” he says.

What the law says

According the National Police Spokesman, Theo Badege, the Police are indeed holding two suspects and are hunting for another person linked to events organization related fraud. He warns event organisers to either be professional or face the wrath of the law.

"I advise the events organisers to be professional. There is a law that punishes breach of trust and fraud. We are now hunting for any other person who could have been involved in the recent concert organization fraud because this affects many categories of people, from revelers, to venue owners and performers. Let there be a clear contract for everything and let those who have no experience in this kind of business try to learn how it’s done, otherwise, the law is going to catch up with those extorting money from people under false pretenses,” he said.

YOUR VOICE

They should be dealt with accordingly and the authorities should be involved.

This will scare off the other schemers who just want to play around with people’s money..

Joan Nakazibwe, Fashion Designer

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I think that if these people are arrested and made to pay huge sums in compensation to the fans and artistes, they wouldn’t even dare do such things again.

The law needs to be tight so that the artistes are well protected since they are the ones mostly affected by this.

Maureen Sanyu, Office Administrator

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I think they should take responsibility for the damage they have caused.

For instance, they should write a press release or use their social media networks to tell the truth and clear the air on the matter.

They must understand that it affects our ministry and we aren’t be able to meet and explain to everyone what really happened.

Patient Bizimana, Gospel Artiste

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They should be held responsible and they should compensate for the damage done because it is utterly wrong.

If fans see you on a poster, they expect you to be available for the concert.

When they don’t, they may assume that you overlooked them or that you are a cheat..

Vincent Gashongore, Gospel artiste, Restoration Church