Local journalist and CEO of MIE (Murindahabi Irene Entertainment) Irene Murindahabi, has been managing young music duo Vestine and Dorcas since they launched their music career late last year, up until two days ago when he announced that he is no longer working with the duo. Yesterday, a one Elizabeth Uzamukunda through an official and open letter on behalf of the teen duo’s family explained the matter at hand and called out Murindahabi for fraudulently taking advantage of the singers’ talent. According to the letter, it all started when Vestine and Dorcas opened a YouTube Channel under their names where they used to upload song covers until the channel got monetized. The letter that was written in Kinyarwanda revealed that “After meeting Irene, he manipulated them into accessing their passwords on all platforms, thereafter channeling their money to his own account. He also sought financial support from the girls’ fans saying that he will invest the money in helping Vestine and Dorcas’ music career, only to use the money in his own interests.” Uzamukunda shared an example of a fan from America who gave Irene Rwf165, 000 to deliver to the girls but he didn’t. When the girls’ parents learnt about that, they warned him against misrepresenting Vestine and Dorcas. Irene then went to Musanze with a new contract and asked them to sign, allowing him to work with the girls, but their father refused. Furious, Irene began threatening them, saying that he will delete everything he has done with them because, “he can’t do anything without profits since he is not Jesus who died on the cross.” In her letter, Uzamukunda goes on to say that Murindahabi who had helped Vestine and Dorcas to release two songs, ‘Nahawe Ijambo’ and ‘Papa’ didn’t stop, instead, he continued to manipulate the young girls and used them for his own interests, taking them on media tours without the parents’ consent and when they recorded their third song, he refused to put it out because their parents refused to sign the new contract. However, the last straw was when the family wanted to check how far the girls’ YouTube channel was, only for the family to learn that Irene had changed all their passwords and withdrawn all their money. Uzamukunda then met with Murindahabi along with his Legal Advisor and requested him to submit the girls’ YouTube Channel, or else the family would file a case. Irene accepted to do so but didn’t do as they agreed. Instead, he released Vestine and Dorcas’s third song, ‘Adonai’ on his YouTube Channel without the family’s approval, and used their brand to advertise his own company. On July 6, Vestine and Dorcas family’s Legal Advisor wrote the last letter to Irene asking him to present all the money he received in the name of Vestine and Dorcas and explain why he used their song ‘Adonai’ as his project. He was given three days to explain his actions, or else they would take the matter to Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) to carry on with the case. Upon receiving the letter, Murindahabi immediately shared the press release, saying that he no longer works with them. On behalf of Vestine and Dorcas family, Uzamukunda is calling for justice, saying that Murindahabi has been using their children for his own interests. Irene speaks out Among other media personalities, Irene also shared the letter on his Instagram saying that the Rwandan justice system is fair and that he will submit the channel and the money, but asked the family to stop damaging what we worked so hard to build. Via his YouTube channel MIE Empire, Irene talked about his journey with Vestine and Dorcas, saying that he did not just help them with their music, but also supported them in their studies from school fees, school materials, clothing. He also explained that he did not have any contract with the girls or their parents as they were planning to sign the papers anytime, and how he got betrayed by some people who called themselves Vestine and Dorcas’ fans. In the video, Irene also shared voice notes that both Vestine and Dorcas sent him expressing their gratitude to Irene and their sadness about the scandal, which they said they played no part in. They even mentioned that whoever is behind all this will not succeed in being their new manager since they are willing to put an end to their music career if they dont get Irene back as their manager.
