August 17, was a dark Wednesday to Rwandans, family and the fans of celebrated R&B and Afrobeat singer Buravan, aka Yvan Burabyo who breathed his last in Medanta Hospital, New Delhi, India.
The vocalist had been undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer since the beginning of the month. He was transferred to India on August 4 for advanced care after weeks of being ill.
While in hospital, Rwandans especially celebrities took to their social media messages indicating that the music star was ill and needed prayers.
His loss left many people in the music industry broken and hurt, and his family shattered.
The youngster surely left a legacy as he was a role model to many, especially the youth and was commended for his kindness and love for his county and culture.
Buravan rose to prominence in 2015 after signing a contract with New Level, a music house that managed talented artistes in Rwanda such as Active Again, among others.
The 27-year-old began his music career in 2009 to 2012, when he began to partake in talent shows that judges were enthralled by his harmonious vocals.
His first songs such as ‘Urwo Ngukunda’ and ‘Malaika’ which were released in 2015, won him fans and sold him to a bigger audience.
He was the first Rwandan musician to have won the Prix Découvertes RFI musical award in 2018, a thing that compelled him to step on big stages and since then, his story changed, for good.
Buravan released his debut album, ‘The Love Lab’, in 2018 after winning the Prix Découvertes RFI and as part of his winning package, he toured 12 African countries.
While a huge number turned up at the Kigali Conference and Exhibition Village (Camp Kigali) on August 23, to pay tribute to the singer, his father Michel Burabyo described his son as one who executed his things quietly and yet shone at it.
On December 4, the family and friends of the late known singer, announced the ‘YB Foundation,’ an initiative aimed at rebuilding Buravan’s legacy and campaigning to fight the rapid growth of cancer cases in Rwanda, but also, taking the next generation in Rwanda’s music industry to the next level.
According to Ciney Aisha Uwimana, the head of YB foundation’s communication, the foundation was launched in honor of Buravan and it is devoted to continue the work he began of preserving the Rwandan cultural heritage and shielding it through music and art.
Yanga
Just when the public was still trying to take in Buravan’s depressing news, Nkusi Thomas who was famously known as ‘Yanga’ also passed on leaving the country in tears.
It was a traumatic moment that most people were left speechless as they shared pictures all over social media and mourning messages of the two fallen stars.
Nkusi was known for interpreting movies in Kinyarwanda but later retired, however, his young brother Giti Junior, took on the profession.
In 2020, during an interview with The New Times, Yanga gave a testimony of how God had miraculously healed him from stomach cancer, stage four.
This happened three years after he was diagnosed with a tumor in the stomach and was given a transfer to go to South Africa for biopsy in 2017.
The video jockey died at the age of 40 after months of battling liver complications in South Africa, where he was staying with his family. He was battling liver complications for the past eight months, and lost the battle to the condition in the hospital in South Africa.
ALSO READ: https://www.newtimes.co.rw/
Kinyoni
In other sad news, Jean Claude Niyonkuru, commonly known as "Kinyoni” lost his life on the night of November 17.
His death was announced in a statement published by Country Records indicating that he succumbed to an unspecified illness at Nyarugenge Hospital.
His talent and role in writing melodious songs released by Country Records, where he worked, can’t be underestimated and will forever be remembered.
Jeanine Neema
Rwandan model, Neema Jeanine Ngerero passed away on Monday, October 3, at the age of 25, in the US though her death hasn’t been known yet.
She was found dead inside her car minutes after leaving her workplace in Arizona.
Her family, and loved ones were saddened by the shocking incident, and called upon the police to investigate the matter and requested the public not to spread any false rumors about her death but to wait for the police’s report.