New Rwandan festival to tackle drug abuse

Kigali Street Jam Festival, organised by Sick City Entertainment, is meant to draw attention to the adverse effects of drug abuse on individuals and society alike.

The inaugural festival will feature Riderman, Bruce Melody, Sintex, Jay Polly, Queen Cha, Rita Ange Gaju and DJs Miller, Pyfo, Infinity and Dialo, among others.

“We will have the Rwanda Investigation Bureau to talk more about drugs and their health, social and legal consequences,” Sick City Entertainment founder Christian Intwari told The New Times.

Intwari said the event would also aim to support the local music industry and its artists.

“We as Rwandans have developed a culture of always getting hyped by international artists and DJs, and we always end up forgetting that our artists have the potential to entertain us,” he said.

Research conducted by the Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) in 2012 revealed that 52% of people between the ages of 14 and 35 had experimented with illegal substances. The RBC said in 2018 that the East African nation was spending roughly 100 billion Rwandan francs ($100m) every year on rehabilitating drug abusers. A significant portion of the bill goes towards nutrition and medical care for diseases such as TB and HIV/AIDS.

In 2018, The East African reported that the Rwandan government was planning to boost surveillance at its border posts with Tanzania and the DRC to curb drug trafficking.