RWANDA: Cecile Kayirebwa releases "UBUTUMWA -The Message"

2014 is the year of the 20th Commemoration of the Genocide against the Tutsi. An event of global significance that brings focus on two decades of tremendous and incredible recovery in Rwanda following one of the last century’s deadliest Genocides. In 1994, the Genocide struck, the then little known East African country, and 100,000 people perished in less than three months as the world looked passively on. All the rhetoric and international conventions on human rights for dignity and international protection were neatly and universally swept under the carpet.  Abandoned!

Until recently, Rwanda was mainly known around the world for the macabre triple “G”: Guerre (war), Genocide and Gorilla. Rwanda’s image has been steadily changing from that of a war-torn country to one of a prosperous service-based economy, decreasing poverty and a safe, tech-friendly African destination. Transformed!

Innovation and tradition are the basis of this transformation in Rwanda, with ancient cultural values being remixed au-gout-du-jour to enable the country to find, develop and implement sustainable solutions to achieve the results we are witnessing today. Gira inka, Umuganda and Gacaca courts are all vivid examples of the historical sophistication of Rwandan society and its ability for self-reliance. Developed!

When one scratches the surface a little deeper, they discover a voice, a specific singing voice that has for many decades comforted, healed and soothed the Rwandan community in and out of the country through songs and poetry embedded in the traditional and pastoral cultural heritage of her country. With a body of work spreading over 30 years, and captured on seven albums, Cecile Kayirebwa has contributed significantly in strengthening the Rwandan identity using the creative medium of music and poetry. Healed!

 

“All cultures have recognized the healing power of music and if there's anyone who can contribute significantly to the long tortuous process of rescuing Rwanda from the trauma of genocidal hatred then it must be Cecile Kayirebwa.” 2001 Andy Morgan

 

In 2014, Kayirebwa brought her full creative energy back to Rwanda and worked intensively with the movers & shakers in today’s cultural and entertainment industry. Young artists, musicians and vocalists have had the opportunity to perform alongside Kayirebwa after intense weeks of training during which the revered entertainer generously and dutifully passed on her knowledge and tricks of the trade.

Ceka I Rwanda, her non-profit association, produced and promoted Inganzo Ya Kayirebwa, a multi-media and interactive live music event marking 30 years since Kayirebwa’s first professional recordings. The excitement and media frenzy that ensued from the event’s announcement was palpable. Inganzo Ya Kayirebwa was filled to capacity and attended by a cross-generational, multi-cultural audience, all eager to see the artist perform her most memorable songs in the flesh. Up and coming, along with established Rwandan artists shared the stage and audience members had the unique opportunity to engage in live conversation with the artist herself.

Press reviews were unanimous in placing Kayirebwa in a league of her own, but it is via Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp that one can truly appreciate the extent of her undying and universal popularity. Social media networks were filled with praise and emotional statements, calling Kayirebwa “a national cultural ambassador”, “la Tantine nationale” or “ the last true Rwandan diva” from Rwanda’s tech obsessed youth.

To mark the 20th commemoration of the Rwandan Genocide, award winner Cecile Kayirebwa produced her 7th studio album - IMYAKA 20 ISHIZE (20 Years later)  - a compilation of 7 carefully selected tracks written before, during and after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Produced in Rwanda by Rafiki Studios in 2014, IMYAKA 20 ISHIZE’s first single is the track - Umutumwa (The Message). Umutumwa is KAYIREBWA's contribution to Kwibuka20 (Remember20).

 

 

This is a song that she wrote 10 years ago and performed live for the first time at the UN headquarters in New York during the 10th Commemoration events where the UN finally officially recognised that the tragic events of 1994 were not a just an inter-ethnic conflict, but in fact a “Genocide”.    

“For people of my generation, when one is well educated and well raised, you relay messages quickly and accurately, this is part of Rwandan culture” says Cecile Kayirebwa.

 Ubutumwa shares a genocide victim’s last thoughts as the Interahamwe (killers) are closing in on him to savagely take his life. Mainly inspired by her own brother’s tortuous last moments, Kayirebwa felt that 20 years later, Ubutumwa was relevant for many of her fellow Rwandans and that it needed to be shared with the world. 

During the Icyunamo (Commemoration) period, these words, images and melodies are like honey in a teacup that's just too sour to swallow.

Listen to Ubutumwa (The Message) 
 

Music video with french and english subtitles are available on CEKA I RWANDA Youtube Channel: