The Rwanda Correctional Services (RCS) has offered details about what caused the death of rapper Joshua Tuyishime, commonly known as Jay Polly. According to a statement, released on Thursday, September 2, the 33-year-old rapper died in the wee hours of Thursday morning, at 4:30a.m, at Muhima Hospital in Nyarugenge District where he had been admitted on the same night. Jay Polly had been rushed to the hospital from the clinic of Mageragere correctional facility where he had been received at about 6pm on Wednesday, September 1. He was attended to by the medics there before he was transferred to Muhima when his condition deteriorated, according to the statement, signed by SSP Pelly Uwera Gakwaya, the RCS Spokesperson. The prisons authorities said in the statement that preliminary investigations had indicated that Jay Polly and two other inmates had recently consumed a concoction of aftershave, water and sugar. It was not immediately clear whether the other two had also experienced complications as a result. “Rwanda Investigation Bureau and Rwanda Forensic Laboratory are conducting thorough investigations into the cause of death,” the statement added. Jay Polly, who is survived by a daughter, is regarded as one of the best local Hip Hop artistes of his generation. He’s also one of the only two rappers to win the now-defunct Primus Guma Guma Superstar contest. He had been arrested, along with 11 others, on April 23, at his home in Kibagabaga suburb in Kigali for allegedly hosting a house party in violation of Covid-19 protocols. It later emerged that law-enforcement officers had found illegal substances at his home, which would subsequently result into a criminal case against him and others. The accused had been denied bail by both Gasabo Primary Court and Gasabo Intermediate Court before the latter set December 2 as the start date for the hearing of the substantive case against them. Jay Polly had denied the charges.
