Tems, a Grammy-winning singer from Nigeria, called off a forthcoming performance in Kigali on Thursday because Rwanda backed the M23 armed group conducting an offensive in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The declaration coincided with worldwide censure of Rwanda’s support for the M23 militia, which took over the mineral-rich eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo this week and took control of the city of Goma.
On March 22, Tems, whose true name is Temilade Openiyi, announced on X that she was calling off a performance at the capital city of Rwanda’s BK Arena.
“So I recently promoted my show in Rwanda without realising that there is the ongoing conflict between Rwanda and Congo,” she stated in her post.
“I genuinely apologise if this came across as insensitive to real-world issues,” Tems, the 2023 Grammy winner and first Nigerian musician, stated.
“I just didn’t know this was happening. My thoughts are with those impacted.
Hours before, M23 leaders had pledged to “continue the march of liberation all the way” to Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The UK government announced on Thursday that it was thinking about reevaluating British aid to Rwanda because of its role in the conflict.
Rwanda has been charged by the DR Congo with launching an effort to take advantage of the mineral resources in the area. According to a July study by UN experts, Rwanda has thousands of troops in eastern DR Congo and maintains “de facto control” over the M23.
Rwanda has refuted the allegations.
Although he has never acknowledged military involvement, President Paul Kagame has insisted that the conflict cannot stop until the FDLR, an armed group located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and founded by former Hutu commanders who massacred Tutsis during the Rwandan genocide in 1994, is destroyed.
