Maro, Vampino turn heat on ‘sham’ Rwandan Dance Group

Born Ronald Magada, the singer claims to have been defrauded of an unspecified amount of money by a Rwanda-based girl dance group named Ava Dance Team.

The “Guno Omwaka” singer in an Instagram post claimed that other Ugandan artists J Wats and Papi Chulo, have fallen victim to the group as well.

The scam, he said, is deceptively simple - the scammers engage in seemingly harmless conversations, posing as potential collaborators interested in promotion deals. They create an illusion of legitimacy by keeping their interactions low-key and reasonable.

“They will patiently talk to you about promotion deals and they will have the simplest conversation to look less suspicious and the money they will ask for will be both negotiable and reasonable, they won't bother with the balance if you pay them half of it as long as you pay something,” he said.

The group according to Maro, has an extensive following across Africa and beyond, making them appear genuine to potential victims.

Reports suggest that the scammers have connections not only in Uganda but also in Rwanda, indicating a broader network.

The singer, says he and fellow victims raised an alarm to the Rwandan Police who forwarded it to RIB, the country’s investigations bureau.

The trio is determined to bring these scammers to justice and ensure that they can't prey on independent artists any longer.

Following the Instagram post which went viral and was picked up by media houses, Maro is calling for more pressure to be exerted on the group until they face justice.

“We are making you famous for the reason you signed up for! Let's join hands fam, let's make them more famous so they can reap what they sow!,” he posted on Saturday.

The artist has since received support from his followers, some of whom claimed to have suffered at the hands of the dance group.

Fellow Ugandan artist Elvis Kirya aka Vampino said he too had been approached by the group, which he initially thought was from Kenya.

He says, they told him they had shot a video for him and asked for payment but when they failed to give him assurance, he didn't send them money.

This content was created with the help of an AI model and verified by the writer.