Popular Rwandan Gospel singer, who shocked the country when he was arrested in 2014 and charged with plotting to kill the president and top government leaders, has died at the age of 38.
The East African reports that Kizito Mihigi is suspected to have committed suicide while in detention, the police said on Monday, three days after he was rearrested attempting to flee the country.
The musician was being held in solitary confinement at the Rwanda Investigative Bureau (RIB) Station in Remera in the capital Kigali, where he was found hanging in a cell.
“He was found hanging by an officer in the morning on Monday. He used the bedsheets that he was sleeping on to hang himself. Preliminary investigations show that he hanged himself on the window of his cell, but more investigations are being conducted,” Ms Marie Michelle Umuhoza, RIB spokesperson told The EastAfrican.
Police confirmed his arrest on Friday last week, a day after media reports said he had been intercepted on his way to Burundi through a porous border.
Police said that Mihigo was being investigated for bribery and for attempting to join rebel groups.
Mihigo was a strong critic of Paul Kagame’s government. In 2014, he was arrested over several allegations including joining the Rwanda National Congress (RNC), a terrorist outfit.
He was charged in court and sentenced to 10 years in prison being convicted of conspiracy against the government of President Paul Kagame. On 15 September 2018, together with Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, Mihigo was released by presidential grace.
He was a songwriter, organist, composer of sacred music, television presenter, genocide survivor, and peace and reconciliation activist.
He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris in France. In 2010, he created the Kizito Mihigo Peace Foundation.
His music was popular among Rwandans but slowly faded after his arrest in 2014 that the government banned the broadcast of his songs and music videos on local radios and televisions.
