The marital dispute between Rwandan gospel singer Ishimwe Vestine and her husband, Idrissa Jean Luc Ouédraogo, has taken a new turn after Ouédraogo filed a separate case before the Kicukiro Primary Court seeking access to a child he says he fathered with Vestine and requesting a DNA test to establish biological paternity. The new court filing was made on September 17, 2026, as the couple’s divorce case remains pending.

According to documents and reports published this week, Ouédraogo says he has not seen the child since birth, despite repeatedly asking Vestine to allow him to meet the child.

He has therefore asked the court to order that he be allowed to see the child before the divorce proceedings move to a full hearing. He also wants a DNA test between himself and the child, saying this would establish whether he is indeed the biological father and clarify the parental responsibilities he may have.

The latest filing comes only days after Vestine began legal proceedings seeking a permanent divorce from Ouédraogo. On September 14, 2026, a pre-trial meeting was held at the Kicukiro Primary Court concerning their divorce case.

Neither Vestine nor Ouédraogo attended personally; both were represented by lawyers. The case has not yet reached the stage where the court has heard the substance of the allegations and made a final decision.

Vestine has said that she decided to seek divorce after obtaining information and what she described as evidence that Ouédraogo had been involved with two other women and had fathered children with them. She also accused him of mistreatment.

Ouédraogo has denied the allegations, saying the incidents described by Vestine did not happen. These remain allegations made by the parties in an ongoing court dispute and should not be treated as established facts until determined through the legal process.

The issue of the child has now become another important part of the dispute. Reports on the court filing identify the child as Ishimwe Nora Hailey.

Ouédraogo says he has not seen the child since birth and is concerned that a permanent separation from Vestine could make it even more difficult for him to have contact with the child, particularly because Vestine currently lives in Canada.

Ouédraogo is therefore asking the court to address the question of his access to the child and the requested DNA test before the divorce case itself is heard on its merits.

His stated concern, according to the court documents reported by several Rwandan media outlets, is not only establishing biological paternity but also understanding and maintaining his responsibilities as a parent.

The developments follow Vestine’s own requests in the divorce case. According to a September 15 report by InyaRwanda, Vestine said she was not asking the court to divide property between her and Ouédraogo, nor was she seeking child support as part of her requests. The court is yet to hear both sides fully and determine the issues raised in the case.

The couple’s relationship had attracted considerable public attention because Vestine is one of Rwanda’s well-known gospel singers, performing with her younger sister Dorcas as Vestine & Dorcas. The two sisters currently live in Canada, where they have continued their music activities.

Vestine and Ouédraogo first legally married on January 15, 2025, and later held their wedding ceremony on July 5, 2025, at Intare Conference Arena. Their marriage therefore lasted a little more than a year before the divorce proceedings became public.

Questions about their marriage had already emerged publicly months before the court case became known. On November 18, 2025, Vestine shared a social-media message in which she said she was going through a difficult period, regretted some choices she had made and said she had learned important lessons from what she had experienced.

She later deleted that message, while some photographs of her and Ouédraogo also disappeared from her Instagram account. At the time, however, she had not publicly announced that she had taken the matter to court.

The latest development now places the couple in two connected but distinct legal disputes: Vestine’s request for a permanent divorce and Ouédraogo’s request concerning the child and DNA testing.

Neither case has resulted in a final court judgment, meaning that the allegations, the question of biological paternity and the wider marital dispute remain matters for the court to determine.

For Vestine’s many followers, the story is particularly striking because her public identity is closely connected to Gospel music and Christian worship.

Her marriage, separation and the legal proceedings have therefore attracted attention beyond the entertainment world. But as the court process continues, the facts established by the court will ultimately be different from allegations or claims made by either side.