Myths surrounding the song “Adela Mukasine” and the woman unfairly defamed

An old and widely recognized Rwandan song, “Adela Mukasine,” performed by the Umubano Orchestra and sung by Captain Nsengiyumva Bernard, has long portrayed its subject as a woman who drank heavily and was driven away by her husband. But new revelations from her surviving family reveal that much of the story was fabricated — a case of defamation turned into national folklore.

The song, whose chorus mocks Mukasine as a drunkard who “drank whisky, got drunk, and the whisky played her,” was adapted from a folk narrative first documented by Bishop Aloys Bigirumwami. Local residents familiar with the woman provided details, though some were already distorted for entertainment. When Umubano Orchestra later transformed it into a recorded hit, further changes were made — including altering real names.

Who was the real Adela Mukasine?

According to her brother, Manihura Herman, Mukasine was the daughter of Manihura Stanislas, a former deputy chief (sous-chef) in what is now Ngororero District. Their home was located on a hill known as “Kigali of Manihura,” named after their father.

In an interview granted to KT Radio in Nyiringanzo, Herman confirmed that the woman in the song was indeed his sister. However, he strongly refuted the claims that she drank alcohol or behaved inappropriately.

“She never drank. Whisky wasn’t even available at the time,” Herman said.

The song even references her husband with a slightly altered name. The lyrics mention “Rugirana, son of Miravumba,” but his true identity was Kamandari, son of Mibirizi, a medical assistant at Kibuye Hospital. Herman believes the misleading change was intentional.

A rumor turned into a nationwide hit

Mukasine and Kamandari had three children together. When Kamandari impregnated a cousin living with them, he sent Mukasine back to her family in 1953. She returned home to Ngororero with only one child, while the other two stayed with their stepmother.

That cousin later spread a malicious story claiming Mukasine had been driven away for drunken misbehavior. The rumor was catchy and it spread fast among locals, evolving into a folk tune that eventually reached musicians and radio stations.

“They sing, ‘assistants gathered together’, but there was only one medical assistant in the whole territory,” Herman said, pointing to further inaccuracies.

A life rebuilt — and a shock years later

Mukasine later remarried a man named Rugemintwaza, who was stationed in Burundi during the colonial era. She lived there until she died in 1987.

In the late 1970s, while Herman and his relatives were visiting her in Ngagara, Bujumbura, the now-popular song unexpectedly played on Burundi Radio.

“We were shocked,” Herman recalled.

Only years later did the cousin responsible for the false accusations come forward to apologize. She reportedly confessed that she fabricated the story out of rivalry, never expecting it to travel far beyond their community.