Former colleagues of the deceased theatre and radio commercial star Dismas Mukeshabatware have described his death as shocking and a big loss to the creative arts industry.

Mukeshabatware, who passed away Wednesday, June 30 at the age of 71, shot to fame in the 1980s while acting in Indamutsa, a theatre group formed by employees of Orinfor (now Rwanda Broadcasting Agency) in 1984.

He died of a heart attack at King Faisal Hospital, Kigali, days after taking part in the recording of Musekeweya, a radio serial drama.

Console Uwimana, who features in Musekeweya in which Mukeshabatware played a starring role under the name Rutaganira, told The New Times that she first saw Mukeshabatware when the latter was working with Imvaho in the 1980s.

"He always had jokes and used to compose and immediately sing songs during our leisure time. He was a good actor who had a great voice that caught the attention of many,” she said.

Uwimana added that she had last seen Mukeshabatware only Friday last week, when he came to cover for a colleague who was absent for a role in ‘Musekeweya’.

"His death was shocking and it scared me so much I couldn’t sleep for the whole night,” she said. "He was a courageous, social and humble man and Indamutsa will always remember and honour him,” Uwimana eulogised the popular actor.

Military, breakthrough years

Jean Pierre Uwimana, another former colleague of Mukeshabatware, said the deceased was "a good friend of mine.”

"I was devastated by his passing,” said Uwimana, a former Indamutsa actor who is now a lecturer at Rwanda’s School of Journalism and Communication. "We shared a lot of memories because we went through so much together.”

Uwimana told The New Times that Mukeshabatware died days after the two had agreed to a meeting to catch up.

Mukeshabatware, who was born in Nyaruguru, studied languages and art at St. Andre Secondary School, and briefly served as a primary teacher long before his breakthrough in the performing arts industry.  

The father of seven, including five girls, had lost his wife Marie Hélène Mukakarangwa in 2017.

Before joining Orinfor, Mukeshabatware served in the military, having attended a noncommissioned officers course in Butare (now Huye) before going to Belgium for media-related studies.

He was subsequently deployed to the military printing press before leaving the army and going on to join Orinfor in 1980.

"I first met him when I joined Orinfor back in 1986,” recalled Uwimana. "He had this unmistakable signature voice that we always teased him about. It was distinct and deep.”

He added, "We often teased him that he sounded like a military man. His authoritative voice made him the ideal choice for several roles like playing as a leader, or as the angry boss or a playboy, along with the late Andre Sebanani.”

‘Not real personality’

However, these roles did not reflect neither Mukweshabatware nor Sebanani’s real personalities, recalled Uwimana. "They were different people in real life.”  

"I will never forget one of his many jokes he shared with us, it was about how his child saw him after a busy day at work and told him that he wished work didn’t exist. He was a warm and social person, "Uwimana of Mukeshabatware.

He had a great sense of humour and you wouldn’t be bored around him, he said.

Narcisse Nyabyenda, who worked with Mukeshabatware as a producer of the Indamutsa plays, said, "When I first met him in Indamutsa, I saw a hugely gifted artist. I never asked him to repeat a scene because he was simply perfect in his roles”.

Nyabyenda said that he and Mukeshabatware were part of the team that wrote and produced the very first Indamutse play broadcast on radio in 1984.

He recalled that the departed artist was a major influence on the growth and popularity of Imvaho, the then government-run newspaper which would later rebrand to Imvaho Nshya before it was privatised in recent years.

"His voice in the Imvaho radio commercial was synonymous with the publication,” he said. "Many people started looking forward to Imvaho radio commercials (Umusogongero w’Imvaho) because of his "unique voice”.

Uwimana said young Rwandan actors have a lot to learn from legendary artists like Mukeshabatware, because he "always acted like it was real life, he lived the moment and brought roles to life.”

Mukeshabatware, who was also known by several names in different theatre plays such as Mbirikanyi, Rusisibiranya, Shuni and Bihemu, is due to be laid to rest on Tuesday, July 6, according to his son Philbert Nyirimigambi.