ON THE COVER: Tusker Project Fame nominee, Fayçal Ngeruka

This Sunday we bring you Fayçal Ngeruka, one of the three nominees from Rwanda for the Tusker Project Fame (TPF). You probably remember him during last year’s tough Pop Idol competitions, when he was evicted after making it to the Top 10. It wasn’t his first attempt at such high end talent competitions. He was there in the 2003 Pepsi and Coca-Cola competitions. He made it to the Top 4, beating about 830 competitors. The 28-year-old songster now says he is determined and confident he’ll win this year’s Tusker Project Fame competition whatever the odds might be. Ngeruka’s dream is to become a famous music celebrity in the region and beyond. He believes in perfection and says that once he wins the competition he will use his status as a celebrity to create awareness of ‘celebrity fame’ in Rwanda’s entertainment industry. On first sight he might pass as just a talented young man with an amazing voice, but Ngeruka is also a husband, father and an aspiring lawyer. Ngeruka, just like many singers today, started singing from the shower, and too shy to perform before a crowd. His very first time to stage a live performance, was in 2005, January 1, at Kivu Serena (former Kivu Sun), with his band-mates. Music has always been his greatest love, and nothing gives him greater joy than performing his own songs which include “Inshuti”, “Lost One” and “Tuwubyine’. You’ll likely find him at Kigali Serena Hotel every Friday andSaturday, and then Hotel des Mille Collines on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday performing live. Ends