Deceased Rwandan Gospel Singer Kizito Mihigo Feted Posthumously for Fighting Dictatorship
21 September 2020
[Photo Credit: Getty Images/S Aglietti]
By Kinyua Mwangi
Seven months after the death of Kizito Mihigo; a celebrated Rwandese gospel singer, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) has honoured his memories by awarding him the 2020 Laureate of Havel International Prize.
Mihigo, a staunch Catholic whose songs were punctuated by deep messages of forgiveness became the posthumous awardee of the prize over his role in fighting for a better Rwanda.
Download Kizito Migigo Music for Free on Mdundo
“HRF is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2020 Václav Havel International Prize for Creative Dissent, celebrating activists who exhibit bravery, creativity, and artistic innovation in standing up against dictatorships,” HRF tweeted.
Kihigo was in police custody at the time of his death. He was President Paul Kagame’s fiercest critic which saw him arrested severally.
In February 2020, which would mark his final arrest, police reports indicate that he committed suicide inside his cell by hanging himself, a pronouncement that has been dismissed by fellow activists.
Mihigo was 38 years old at the time of his death. In 2014, Mihigo released a viral song “Igisobanuro Cy'urupfu” countering the government’s stand on the heinous 1994 Rwanda genocide where over a million people from Tutsi community and Hutus were butchered to death in just 100 days.
"Even though genocide orphaned me, but let it not make me loose empathy for others. Their lives, too, were brutally taken. But that did not qualify as genocide," the song’s lyrics read in part.
Leave your comment