Rwandan artiste Kivumbi King, one of the country's most prominent musicians, has publicly criticized DJ Marnaud’s events company—Music Therapy (MMT)—and Groove Kigali for their lack of professionalism.

The artist said this after withdrawing from the highly anticipated ‘Afro Therapy’ event, co-organised by both event firms, which is scheduled to take place on Friday, February 28, at the renowned city bar, Atelier Du Vin.

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"Very unprofessional teams over there,” Kivumbi told The New Times. "They went ahead to organize and advertise an event without a contract with my team or making any advance payment.”

According to Kivumbi, his management contacted DJ Marnaud, the owner of MMT, to finalize a contract before the event. However, they received no response until his image appeared on promotional flyers as the main headliner.

"My team tried to reach out to MMT, specifically Marnaud, as they were the ones who initially informed us about the event. We requested a contract, but no one bothered to bring it. Next thing we knew, flyers were out”

"What frustrated my team was that we made several attempts to contact MMT, but we couldn’t reach them. So, we decided to cancel our participation,” the artist further explained.

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On February 25, Groove Kigali and MMT released a statement regarding the matter, citing "unforeseen and unprofessional circumstances” as the reason for Kivumbi’s withdrawal from the event lineup. They dismissed any allegations of dishonesty, stating that they remain a credible organization despite "misleading claims.”

For Kivumbi, however, such incidents hinder the growth of Rwanda’s creative industry and he suggested that it’s time to change the narrative.

"We always complain about foreigners not taking us seriously when we don’t even take ourselves seriously. My team follows a strict and professional business process, and we do not compromise on that,” he told The New Times.

MMT has faced prior accusations of unprofessionalism. Last year, Nigerian DJ Dope Caesar publicly accused Marnaud of defrauding her of $3,000 (over Rwf 4,000,000).

Similarly, in June 2024, Marnaud’s event company included South African DJ duo TxC in the lineup for the Gisenyi Long Weekend Party, but they did not attend or perform.