Inyamibwa Cultural troupe celebrated 20 years of its existence over the weekend, treating hundreds of culture enthusiasts to a highly entertaining performance.

The troupe, which is one of the few that has stood the taste of time, celebrated the feat at Kigali Conference and Exhibition Village (KCEV).

Kigali Conference and Exhibition Village’s main tent was brimming with Rwandan traditional music enthusiasts, who turned up in droves for the performances from different musicians.

Organised and headlined by youth from Genocide Survivors Students’ Association (AERG), the anniversary celebration was part of the troupe’s annual cultural concert dubbed ‘Inkera I Rwanda’, during which the youthful troupe showcases their talent in traditional performances.

Sports and Culture minister Espérance Nyirasafari (with mic) speaks at the cultural event at Kigali Conference and Exhibition Village, flanked by Inyamibwa cultural troupe.

They also use it as an opportunity to share experience of their past and celebrate their achievements with their fans.

Through this year’s theme ‘Rwimitana’, the troupe proved that Rwandan culture is still alive. The troupe had been rehearsing for the concert for over a month. The concert attracted people from various walks of life, young and adults, including government officials, renowned traditional artistes, and people from the expatriate community.

Inyamibwa cultural troupe female dancers entertain revellers.

On a traditionally decorated stage, the 100 or so member troupe exhibited creative skills, from drumming, to dancing and singing, to make sure everyone in the tent gets a dose of entertainment.

The troupe performed for over three hours and one of the highlights of the evening was when a member of the expatriate community joined a male troupe member on stage and sung a Kinyarwanda chorus, which got the audience mesmerised by her knowledge and pronunciation of the local language.

It also turned out to be a night of love as the Master of Ceremonies, Rodrigue Rusagara, officially proposed to a ‘Inyamibwa’ member, identified as Joselyn Mpinganzima, in a scene that was graced by Masamba Intore, who sung for the couple.

The dancers thrilled revellers with their energetic dance moves.

Legendary musicians like Cecile Kayirebwa, MariaYohana, Mani Martin and Kizito Mihigo, among others, were in attendance to support the troupe. Each of them had a minute or so on stage to do a quick acapella of their favourite songs to the delight of the audience.

The Sports and Culture Minister, Espérance Nyirasafari, hailed the mentality of the young members of the troupe for overcoming their past and be part of the country’s future using their talent. She commended them for upholding the Rwandan culture and for spreading it beyond Rwanda.

The troupe’s male dancers perform intore dance.

Landry Munyaneza, the troupe’s coach, said seeing people come to their concert in big numbers motivated them to do even more to deliver ecstatic performances.

"We are so happy to see such a huge attendance. We are celebrating our 20 year journey, which has been eventful. We remain focused on entertaining people. We are really grateful that people enjoy what we do,” Munyaneza said.

The concert ended few minutes past 10pm.

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