The singing duo of Ben Serugo and Chance Mbanza are arguably some of the most admired gospel artistes on the scene. The team’s composition skills makes them stand out as the brains behind some of the biggest songs by gospel bands, Alarm Ministries and Joyous Melody, after their own. Through their songs, they have won many fans even beyond Rwanda that recently; the couple received a gift in the form of a brand new car, worth Rwf7 Million from their Canadian-based fan of Rwandan origin. As such, the couple who in an interview, said that their vocals have improve gradually, thought it wise to exploit their other talent in acting to minister to people. “I once talked to a person asking her why she had not attended an online service, and she told me that she was busy watching a movie, then I realized people nowadays are spending their time on screens,” recalls Mbanza. This was at the beginning of last year and it was then that the couple resolved to impact the society through their drams series, Ibihe Series and what better time than the Covid-19 lockdown that occurred in early 2020. The drama series, the couple said, coincided with their concerns over the divorce escalation in the country, hence a wakeup call to take action. “Divorce is another ‘pandemic’ that very many people do not realise has already spread. We want to see people living harmoniously because if families are torn apart, it affects all aspects of life, including the society and the country at large,” commented Serugo. “That is how we came up with an educational series on our YouTube platform to address the conflicts that arise in nowadays families leading to divorce,” he added before Mbanza chipped in; “We couldn’t only use songs to reach all masses of people, because some people do not enjoy gospel songs, but most of them are on social media platforms. So we used a movie to attract them and deliver a message throughout.” Ibihe series started streaming online during the lockdown but is among the most-watched local YouTube movies because of how it tackles family issues and challenges affecting Christians today. The Amarira hitmakers expect their film to unite torn apart families, decrease cases of violence, and restore people’s lives. The couple also urged everyone to use their talents to help restore families that are torn apart in Rwanda and play their role in contributing to society’s development.
