Rwandan singer The Ben has once again brought pride to the country’s music industry after winning the East Africa Best Artist award at the 2026 HiPipo Music Awards.
He received the award at a ceremony held in Kampala, Uganda, on the night of November 13, 2026, beating 11 other artists from across the region who were nominated in the same category.
Among the artists he outperformed were Ali Kiba, Bien, Diamond Platnumz, Dr. Jose Chameleone, Element EleéeH, Harmonize, John Frog, Joshua Baraka, Natacha, Sheebah and Silver X.
In addition to this award, The Ben had also represented Rwanda in two other categories: Africa Number One and East Africa Best Act/Song, following the success of his song Inshallah.
However, the Africa Number One award went to Uganda’s Joshua Baraka, who was competing against several prominent artists, including The Ben, Asake, Ayra Starr, Burna Boy, Diamond Platnumz, DJ Maphorisa, Jose Chameleone, Mohamed Ramadan, The Unveiled, Tyla and Uncle Waffles.
Joshua Baraka also won the East Africa Best Act/Song award for This Time, a song he collaborated on with JAE5.
The track beat other nominated songs, including The Ben’s Inshallah, Bruce Melodie’s Pom Pom, featuring Diamond Platnumz and Brown Joel, Element EleéeH’s Ayayaah, featuring Bien, and Diamond Platnumz’s Happy.
The latest recognition adds to The Ben’s growing list of achievements in East African music. In 2025, he also won the Best East Africa Act/Song award for his song True Love.
The HiPipo Music Awards are annual awards organised by Uganda-based company HiPipo to recognise artists and other contributors to the growth of the music industry.
The awards originated from the HiPipo Charts Festival, which began in 2012. The first HiPipo Music Awards ceremony was held on February 9, 2013, at Theatre La Bonita in Kampala.
The 2026 edition marked the 15th presentation of the awards, which have become an important platform for promoting and recognising outstanding artists, songs and other achievements in Uganda, East Africa and the wider African music industry.
