A number of Rwandan gospel artistes were among the winners of the Maranatha Awards that were held in Nairobi on Sunday. The awards aim at showing appreciation to gospel artists within East Africa. Among the various Rwandans that walked away with different accolades include Gaby Kamanzi who won an award for Best Live Worship Song with ‘’Nzahora Nshima’’. In addition to the East African countries, Eritrea, Somalia and Ethiopia were also represented in the awarding ceremony. The voting process that lasted two months, from June 15 to August 15, where fans were able to vote using both SMS procedure and via online. Adrien Misigaro scooped the award for the Best Collaboration for his ‘’Nzagerayo’’ song featuring Zawadi, whereas Gentil Misigaro was the winner for Best East African Minister in Diaspora, while Prosper Nkomezi was voted the Best Vocalist. Although there were a number of Rwandan artists that were nominated for the awards, some did not have it as they had anticipated for they walked away the way they had gone, (award-less). These are Serge Iyamuremye, Aline Gahongayire, Ambassadors Choir as well as Healing Worship Team. Many gospel lovers claim that it is not a shock that Aline Gahongayire did not walk away with any award despite the fact that she had been nominated in two categories. ‘’Do you think people forget that easily?’’ said one fan of the gospel artist a few days after the awards and this pointed to the comments the artists made a few months ago that left many of her fans and members of the media up in flames. In a telephone interview with The New Times, Gaby Kamanzi expressed her gratitude for the award. “I really thank God for this award, it is a sign that the music I am producing is appreciated by the people I put it out for and this is a big achievement for me as a musician,’’ she said. She said that if she wasn’t producing quality music, there is no way she could have won the award. About her fellow Rwandans that failed to win anything, she encouraged them to keep doing the Lord’s work as awards aren’t a sign that God is really pleased with you. ‘’Do what the Lord instructs you to do and everything will come in at the right time,’’ she concluded. Kamanzi on Saturday, also released her latest song, ‘’Ewe Mungu’’. The video was done by Bob Chris Raheem from Kigali and the audio done by Didier Touch a Rwandan based in Brussels-Belgium. editor@newtimesrwanda.com
