KIGALI NEVER DISAPPOINTS when it comes to entertainment of all sorts and the just-concluded week was no exception.

It’s a season of concerts and a series of song releases and showbiz always finds room in the world of entertainment. 

The New Times looks at the showbiz stories that made headlines last week.

The Clarisse Karasira Twitter saga

Last week, female cultural musician Clarisse Karasira posted a controversial tweet which reflected how avoiding gifts in exchange for sleeping with men resulted into her finding a lifetime partner helped her become the happy woman she is now.

The singer’s tweet, which she posted days after giving birth to her firstborn, is loosely translated as, "I refused to be immoral in pursuing luxury things during my youth, I never went after wealth that I never sweated for because I was dreaming of a time like this. Dear beautiful girls, let’s be respectful, be careful and focus on the best, God will never let us down.”

A picture that Clarisse Karasira posted whose caption attracted the attention of many Twitter users.

While she thought she was giving advice to her younger sisters, the singer’s post did not go well with so many Twitter users who instead accused her of ‘arrogance’ which some believe she started to express since she arrived in the United States, where she lives with her husband Sylvain de Joie Ifashahayo. 

A series of comments on Kasasira’s post suggested that she should be grateful for what she has instead of being disrespectful for those who could not make it due to various circumstances.  

Shedding more light about the tweet to help people get her message right, the singer said "You got it wrong. I am grateful to God but I have to be real, you can't mess your life in drugs and prostitution and expect same results as someone who didn't. Life doesn't work that way.”

On Friday, July 5, Alyn Sano posted a tweet that reads, "Getting married and leaving Africa for America or Europe is not every African girl’s dream. Chill!” in what people believe the singer made the post to calm her fellow singer Karasira down. 

Whether people took her tweet out of context or not, the singer might have had sleepless nights over a single post that sparked controversy among the Rwandan society. 

Lea Umutesi says ‘Yes’

The former Miss Rwanda contestant is celebrating one of the best moments of her life after she said ‘Yes’ to her boyfriend’s marriage proposal in a ceremony that took place at the latter’s birthday bash on Saturday, 16. 

The man identified as Peter Nasasira killed two birds with one stone when his girlfriend Umutesi vowed to marry him the same day he was celebrating his birthday.

Former Miss Rwanda contestant Lea Umutesi said ‘yes’ to her boyfriend’s marriage proposal.

Umutesi made headlines in 2021 when Tanzanian music star Ali Kiba posted her photo to mobilize his 6.4 million Instagram followers to vote for her Miss Rwanda 2021 voting exercise in an attempt to help boost her votes.

She is now an administrator of Kigali Protocol, Kigali’s premier protocol service provider, companies.

Why is Serge Iyamuremye in the United States?

Gospel musician Serge Iyamuremye on Friday, July 15, departed for the United States for a visit that he kept private from the media. 

The singer was welcomed by his girlfriend Sandrine Uburiza with whom they are reportedly planning to get married. 

Some reports indicate that the singer will do various performances during his stay while others insist that he visited his girlfriend to plan for the wedding whose date is yet to be confirmed.

Iyamuremye has on many occasions denied reports suggesting that he proposed to his girlfriend but his trip could result in the singer making a big statement following the visit. 

Bruce Melodie’s new video not for ‘under age’!

He gets people talking whenever he drops a song. The singer this time released ‘Akinyuma’ a song whose video is restricted for persons under 18 to watch. 

The singer pulled the song down less than 15 minutes after he uploaded it on YouTube although some of his fans believe that somebody else might have reported it over copyright issues until he re-uploaded but with a restriction notice for persons aged below 18 years because the video contains adult material such as harsh language and nudity. 

Melodie’s music has on different occasions been at the center of criticisms for using content that violates cultural norms in his songs although the singer distanced himself from any attempt of doing music out of respect of Rwandan culture.