CELEBRITY CENTRAL: SGT ROBERT

He is not your ordinary soldier, the kind you are used to. He has been in the music industry for over ten years. He is Sgt. Robert Kabera. Sgt Robert is a household name and his songs have been a source of inspiration to many Rwandans, especially his liberation songs. Sgt Robert made his breakthrough in 1997 after the struggle to liberate Rwanda with his single ‘Wezo Tunao’. This song put him in the limelight and from then he did not look back. He has so far released 16 songs all of which enjoy extensive local air play from the local radio stations. It is hard to attend a concert around the country without having the celebrated artist-soldier gracing the occasion. People, more especially the youth, enjoy him on stage because of his energetic and enthusiastic performances. On top of being a musician, Sgt Robert is a soldier who acts as an instructor at Gabiro training wing, a post he has held for the last seven years. He claims that performing both tasks can be challenging but that he enjoys the whole experience. ‘It is a matter of programming yourself and doing things that you really enjoy doing’. Sgt Robert says unlike what many people tell him, he can’t abandon neither being a soldier nor music because he enjoys both professions equally. Sgt Robert has so far released an album called ‘Majeshi makali’ with the army band and is planning on releasing his solo album by the end of the year. On top of releasing an album, Sgt Robert also plans to travel to the United Kingdom where he will be performing in concerts for the Rwandan Diaspora and other Africans living in the UK. Currently he is working on a single to be released next month. He says it will be a hit for his fans and Rwandans in general. Being an innovator and hard working Rwandan youth, Sgt. Robert has opened a website for the youth where they can access information about their favourite Rwandan artists whenever they like. He recently launched the website and the site will contain all the stories and info of the local artists. The site is www.sgtrobert.populus.ch and he encourages Rwandans to give both moral and financial support to their artists so that they can also develop to the standards of other artists in the region. Impanda is one of his most popular songs which he released early this year. Lyrics to ‘IMPANDA’: VERSE 1; Impanda nivuga kuri uwo munsiAba kiranutsi bazishimaAbanyabyaha bo bazatakambaYoh babonisi ibabereye isobeIgihe ni gito gisigaye tweseTukajya mumunezeroTurikumwe nabamarayika, yohMwene data uzajyahe? CHORUS; tuzabona itorero Yesu naza Tuzabyina n’abera Mbega ibyishimo Dore umunezero Kuri uwo munsi tuzicyarana n’ibikoma ngoma ha Twambikwe amakamba Yishimwe x2 VERSE 2; ubwa makondera azaba avuze inanga Nazo tuzazicuranga amavi yose Azamupfukamira yoh... ndetse Amajwi amuririmbire Abanyabyaha banze kwihana Bazataka bahekenye amenyo Ubwisi izaba yabahindutse yoh... Ibihe bizaba bikomeye.CHORUS VERSE 3; Igiteye agahinda ni kimwe Kuba warakoreye ubusa ukabura isi Ukabura ijuru yo yoh...ukazajya johonomi Mbega umuriro ugurumana wajyenewe Abanze kwihana kuri uwo munsi Ntambabazi namba yoh... Keretse amarira n’amaganyaCHORUS VERSE 4; Bamwe bazikubita imbere ye bati Mwami twaragukoreye ndetse Twirukana abadaimoni yoh... Nawe azabasubiza agir’ati Mujyende sinijyeze mbamenya Baziheba bakorwe nisoni yo Ibihe bizaba bikomeyeCHORUS dedantos2002@yahoo.com