Tems Cancels Show In Rwanda, Cites Reason

Nigerian Grammy award winner Temilade Openiyi, with the moniker Tems, recently took to her social media accounts to announce the cancellation of her show in Rwanda.

On Thursday, she announced that she was canceling the upcoming concert in Kigali over Rwanda’s support of the M23 armed group waging an offensive in eastern DR Congo.

The announcement came amid international condemnation of Rwanda’s backing of the M23 group, which seized control of the city of Goma this week in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s mineral-rich east.

Tems revealed in a post on X that she was cancelling a concert at BK Arena in the Rwandan capital on 22 March.

She wrote, “So I recently promoted my show in Rwanda without realising that there is an ongoing conflict between Rwanda and Congo. I never ever intend to be insensitive to real-world issues, and I sincerely apologize if this came across that way.”

The singer further shared how ignorant she was of the conflict between Congo and Rwanda when she started promoting her show.

“I simply had no idea this was going on. My heart goes out to those affected. Conflict is no joke and I truly hope and pray for peace in this time.”