Burundian veteran musician Khadja Nin and her husband and Belgian former motorsports driver Jacky Ickx were among hundreds who attended the Rwanda Mountain Gorilla Rally 2024 over the weekend.
The couple was spotted in Bugesera which hosted the final day of the 24th Rwandan Rally which Kenyan star driver Karan Pater and co-driver Tauseef Kahn won on Sunday, October 20.
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Kadja Nin, 65, participated in the awarding the ceremony of the Rwandan Rally, handing over the trophy to Queen Kalimpinya as the best female driver at the car racing event.
"I’m incredibly grateful to receive the trophy as the best female driver at the Rwanda Mountain Gorilla Rally...Much love to Khadja Nin for all the encouragement along the way,” Kalimpinya posted on her Instagram page on Sunday after receiving the trophy.
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Kalimpinya also met Khadja Nin’s husband who, she said, inspired her to go all the way and dream big in her career.
"So humbled and grateful for the opportunity to chat with someone who has achieved so much. Thank you for the encouragement and wisdom. Feeling more inspired than ever to keep pushing toward my dreams,” the former Miss Rwanda finalist spoke of Jacky Ickx.
About Khadja Nin
Khadja Nin is a Burundian singer and musician born in Burundi as the youngest of a family of eight.
Her father was a senior diplomat and Minister of the Interior of the Kingdom of Burundi. She studied music at an early age like most of her brothers and sisters.
With her exceptional singing voice, at the age of seven she became one of the lead vocalists in the Bujumbura choir and performed in the local cathedral.
Khadja Nin successfully used a blend between African rhythms and modern pop to create her own unique brand of music. One of her most popular songs is Sina Mali, Sina Deni, a translated cover version of Stevie Wonder’s song Free.
About Jacky Ickx
Born on January 1, 1945, Jacques Bernard Edmon Martin Henri "Jacky" Ickx is a Belgian former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from 1966 to 1979. Ickx twice finished runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers’ Championship in 1969 and 1970 and won eight Grand Prix across 14 seasons.
In endurance racing, Ickx won two World Endurance Championship with Porsche and is a six-time winner of the 24 Hour of Le Mans, as well as a two-time winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring.
In rallying, Ickx won the Paris-Dakar Rally in 1983 with Mercedes.