Could 'The New Times' Be Running Low?

Stromae is coming. We all know that.

In fact, Rwanda’s leading English daily newspaper, The New Times (TNT) Rwanda, published today an article about his long-awaited appearance in Kigali. It is written by Stephen Kalimba.

Also, a few weeks ago, one of my colleagues at The Kigalian wrote an article on the upcoming concert – with keen interest, providing an overview of the events and what to expect. It was published under the title, “Kigali, Stromae Is Coming.”

Meanwhile, earlier this week TNT had published another article, on plagiarism. It caught the attention of many and, just yesterday, I also made a small comment on this issue via Twitter.

While I still want to talk about the issue of plagiarism and dissertation in school, I’d like to talk about the story published on Stromae by TNT today. I am also excited about this event—like many other Rwandans and fans of music—and I’d like to see more people writing about it. But, is it a simple coincidence that some key portions of Kalimba’s article in TNT are similar to those published by The Kigalian last month? If not, could TNT be running low, and what responsibility should they bear?

Just on its first line, Kalimba’s article claims that the show has been dubbed “homecoming”. In fact, you will barely find another source that dubbed it as such; if not what’s displayed on the subtitle of this special page we created. We called it “A Giant’s Homecoming“.

Also, if you read the last paragraph of his article, you will notice that it is quite similar with what was published on this site.

Our May article’s 6th paragraph said:

Born from a Rwandan architect, who was killed during the 1994 genocide, and a Flemin mother, his rise to fame was significantly influenced by his hit-song “Alors on Dance” (So We Dance), released in September 2009. But it is the lead single from his second album "Racine Carrée (2013)"), “Papaoutai” (Papa où t’es, meaning “Dad, where are you?”), released two years ago, that earned him immense popularity in Rwanda.

And the article published today, 6 June 2015, says:

Stromae’s rise to fame was significantly influenced by his hit-song “Alors on Dance” (So We Dance), released in September 2009 but it is the lead single from his second album, “Papaoutai” (Papa où t’es), released two years ago, that earned him immense popularity in Rwanda.

For your eye, here is the screenshot:

Here is another one of today’s article in TNT:

As we talk of plagiarism—and at this very period of time where we often discuss media improvement—it is crucial to aim for excellence in respect of proprietary efforts. No matter how small.

Have something to add to this story? Write to editor@kigalian.com.