Ishimwe Vestine’s trip to Canada in late 2025, where she travelled with Kamikazi Dorcas for a series of concerts organised with the involvement of her music adviser, Murindahabi Irene, later resulted in a dispute file that reached the Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) and the prosecution. The case involved allegations of human trafficking, abandonment of the matrimonial home and infidelity.
The case was provisionally closed by the prosecution on July 28, 2026, after it found that, regarding the main offences alleged, the evidence and legal elements required to establish the offences were incomplete.
Regarding the allegation of abandonment of the matrimonial home against Vestine, the prosecution specifically found that her husband, Idrissa Ouedraogo, knew where she was going, accompanied her and later gave her written permission to remain in Canada.
The file, however, documents a lengthy dispute involving the agreements for the Canadian concerts, questions over whether Vestine would return to Rwanda, conflicts between her and her husband, a letter allowing her to remain in Canada followed by another asking her to return, and eventually a complaint filed with RIB.
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The Complaint Was Filed by Vestine’s Husband
On December 4, 2025, lawyers Me Mutabazi R. Innocent and Me Mutiganda Daniel filed a complaint with RIB on behalf of Idrissa Ouedraogo, Ishimwe Vestine’s husband.
They requested an investigation into Murindahabi Irene over alleged human trafficking and profiting from another person, complicity in the offence of abandoning the matrimonial home, public defamation and infidelity.
The dispute originated from Vestine’s trip to Canada with her younger sister, Kamikazi Dorcas. Both are musicians, while Murindahabi Irene was their music adviser.
Documents show that they travelled to Canada in October 2025 for a series of concerts organised by Hitayezu Chantal.
In a statement she gave to RIB on March 7, 2026, Murindahabi said the agreement covered four concerts in Surrey, Regina, Winnipeg and Edmonton, with each concert scheduled to pay $3,000. She also said the concert organiser was responsible for airfare, accommodation, meals and other expenses related to the trip.
Another source of the dispute emerged over the implementation of the agreement. Murindahabi told RIB that disagreements arose between her and Hitayezu, particularly over accommodation and concert payments.
She said that instead of staying in accommodation as agreed, they were sometimes sent to stay in homes of people they did not previously know. There were also disagreements over payments that were supposed to be made to the artists and other people travelling with them.
Those disputes later became the basis of a complaint that Hitayezu also filed with the justice authorities, accusing Murindahabi of infidelity.
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Vestine Did Not Return With the Others
The situation escalated after the concerts ended, when the others were expected to return to Rwanda but Vestine decided to remain in Canada.
In her statement, Murindahabi said that around November 18, 2025, Vestine told her that she did not want to return to Rwanda because of problems she was experiencing with her husband.
Murindahabi said she had an airline ticket whose return date could be changed, but after Vestine expressed her desire to remain in Canada, the plans changed and the others returned to Rwanda while Vestine stayed behind.
One significant piece of evidence in the case was a letter written by Idrissa allowing his wife to remain in Canada because she was pregnant.
The prosecution file shows that among the evidence collected by RIB was the letter Idrissa wrote to Murindahabi, giving permission for Vestine to remain in Canada.
Idrissa later wrote another letter reversing his earlier position and asking his wife to return home to Rwanda. Both letters played an important role in the prosecution’s decision.
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Idrissa Said, “My Wife Refused to Come Home”
When Idrissa was questioned by RIB on February 18, 2026, he said he was married to Vestine and that they had been living together in Rwanda before the problems arose.
He said that when his wife travelled to Canada, she was accompanied by Murindahabi and Kamikazi Dorcas for the concert tour. The others later returned to Rwanda, while Vestine remained in Canada.
Idrissa said his wife had told him that she had a health problem and wanted to give birth in Canada. He also referred to the documents concerning her stay there and the subsequent request for her to return to Rwanda.
In his statement, Idrissa identified Murindahabi as the main person he believed was involved in Vestine’s decision to remain in Canada and requested an investigation into several alleged offences.
He requested investigations into several other alleged offences, including human trafficking, infidelity, public defamation, threats, theft or fraud, as well as offences related to the use of technology.
He said his allegations were based partly on the way the Canadian concert trip had been organised and how money from the activities may have been used.
Idrissa also raised allegations concerning Vestine’s personal relationship with Murindahabi, including an allegation of sexual relations. However, when asked whether he had evidence that Vestine had had sexual relations with Murindahabi, he said he had no concrete evidence and had instead received the information from another person.
Other issues he raised included what he described as Murindahabi claiming authority as Vestine’s manager, defamation and threats, as well as matters he wanted investigated as gender-based violence.
He also requested an investigation into information circulating on social media and in the media concerning his marriage to Vestine, saying that some of it amounted to rumours or information damaging his reputation.
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What Did Vestine Say?
Among the evidence submitted to the prosecution were interviews conducted by investigators with Ishimwe Vestine.
The file shows that Vestine said she did not want to resume living with Idrissa because of conflicts between them and a loss of trust in their relationship.
Vestine told investigators that her reasons for not wanting to return to live with Idrissa went beyond her decision to remain in Canada. She said their relationship had deteriorated, that she had lost trust in her husband and accused him of not being there for her during her pregnancy.
She also said the conflict had extended to the child she was expecting. She accused Idrissa of refusing to accept the child and of saying that the child could be Murindahabi Irene’s.
On the other hand, Idrissa told RIB that Vestine had told him she wanted to give birth in Canada and that he had initially written to allow her to remain there because of her pregnancy before later asking her to return to Rwanda.
Vestine’s mother, Uzamukunda Elizabeth, said her daughter remained in Canada while pregnant and experiencing health problems, but that she did not know when she would return to Rwanda.
Witness Kamikazi Dorcas also said they had travelled to Canada for concerts, but that Vestine later remained there and that there had been an understanding with her husband that she could give birth in Canada.
The evidence also included a document confirming that Vestine and Idrissa were legally married, as well as her passport and travel documents.
Why Was Murindahabi Accused of Human Trafficking?
Those who complained against Murindahabi argued that because she had taken Vestine to Canada as an artist and Vestine later remained there, the matter should be investigated to determine whether human trafficking and profiting from another person had occurred.
In the prosecution document, Murindahabi was listed as a suspect in alleged human trafficking, infidelity and involvement in the alleged abandonment of the matrimonial home.
The complainants relied heavily on the fact that Murindahabi was involved in the concert agreements and was among those who travelled with Vestine and Dorcas to Canada.
They also argued that Idrissa’s letter to Murindahabi giving permission for Vestine to remain in Canada demonstrated the role she played in decisions concerning the trip.
In her statement, Murindahabi said the trip was work-related and based on concert agreements. She said she had never interfered in Vestine’s marital affairs and that the decision to remain in Canada belonged to Vestine.
She said the dispute between her and Hitayezu concerned the implementation of the concert agreements and was not related to trafficking a person.
The investigation did not find sufficient evidence to establish that Murindahabi had taken Vestine to Canada with the intention of trafficking her or profiting from her in a manner that constituted the alleged offence.
Why Was the Case Closed?
On March 18, 2026, Me Mutabazi R. Innocent wrote to RIB on behalf of Idrissa Ouedraogo, informing it that his client “no longer had any interest in pursuing his complaint” and requesting that the case not be pursued further.
A RIB report dated June 2, 2026, shows that after interviewing different parties and collecting evidence, the file was submitted to the prosecution for a decision.
On July 28, 2026, the Kicukiro Primary Level Prosecution decided to provisionally close the case, stating that the elements of the alleged offences had not been sufficiently established.
Regarding the allegation of abandonment of the matrimonial home against Ishimwe Vestine, the prosecution said the evidence showed that when she travelled to Canada, her husband knew where she was going, accompanied her and later gave her written permission to remain there.
