The names of the ten nominees in the much awaited Primus Guma<\/span> Guma<\/span> superstar competition were finally disclosed last Friday at the Kigali<\/a> Serena Hotel main hall. The by invitation-only event that was broadcast live on Rwanda<\/a> national television attracted thousands of music enthusiasts. <\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n However, the missing ingredient was the absence of female artistes among the ten nominees to fight it out in the latter stages of the competition. The ten nominees are Dream Boys, Dr. Claude, Urban Boys, J-Polly, Riderman<\/span>, Rafiki<\/span>, Mani Martin, Kitoko<\/span>, King James and Tom Close.<\/p>\n In an interview with IGIHE.com<\/span>, the Bralirwa<\/span> Primus Brand Manager, Jean Pierre Uwizeye<\/span>, said the lack of female nominess<\/span> was based on the judges who not deem them proficient enough, dispensing with rumours<\/span> that Bralirwa<\/span> had a role to play in that. He further pointed out that Miss Jojo<\/span> chose not to be involved in the competition due to her Muslim beliefs that deter her from branding alcoholic products. He observed that another popular artiste Shanel<\/span> could not take part in the contest due to her other musical engagements in Canada.<\/p>\n \u201cMiss Shanel<\/span> is already abroad so she cannot be a nominee ; this competition was meant for Rwandan artists in Rwanda,\u201d he said, observing that even for some of the female participants who took part like Aline<\/span> Gayongire<\/span>, her votes tally did not add up.<\/p>\n \u201cSo if the Rwandan people are thinking that it was done on purpose, it truly wasn\u2019t,\u201d he spelt out.<\/p>\n When contacted to corroborate her non-participation in the competition, popular artiste Miss Jojo<\/span> said that she balked to join in due to personal reasons.<\/p>\n \u201cMy work, religion and personal life work hand in hand\u201d, she said told IGIHE.com<\/span>.<\/p>\n One of the judges, Jean Paul preferably known as JP a popular music producer acknowledged that culture may have had a part to play in discounting female musicians.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe that Rwandans don\u2019t want to see their daughters dancing provocatively on stage, it\u2019s not in our culture\u201d,<\/p>\n \u201c I have to agree, but the truth is I am not the only one voting and I also believe that the ten who were chosen have worked harder and longer in this industry and deserved their votes. \u201d<\/p>\n Miss Jojo<\/span> concurred. \u201cThe female artists are trying but they are still new and young in this business. They really have to have great ambition in this industry and work hard. I mean really hard, so they can attain the level of their brothers ; then we can compete fair and square\u201d, \u201cThis is just the beginning, the sky is the limit\u201d.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, when the competition ensues, the contestants will perform alongside a live band and the judgment would be based on their performances.<\/p>\n