A photo of Rwandan gospel singer Mihigo Kizito in a terrible state with shattered limbs, whimpering in pain and isolated in a room has Monday leaked, making uncountable rounds on social media and igniting debate.
This photo has compelled the public and several other authorities in different capacities across the world to dismiss an account earlier peddled by Rwanda Police that this musician was found dead in a police custody at Remera Station and had reportedly committed suicide.
The public believes he could have bled profusely to death following the septic wounds inflicted on him as visibly seen in the picture with stains of blood seen on the bed sheets and his clothes.
The picture has since stirred uneasiness in Kigali with top regime officials questioning its leakage.
Rwanda’s spin machinery has since rushed to social media to describe the grim picture as a concoction of Uganda’s security agencies.
However, sources say the picture began circulating from the circles of high ranking Rwandan authorities- who are opposed to the regime but have no option- before it went viral on internet.
The ruthless regime elements have instigated investigation into the source of of the leakage.
Muhigo, a perceived critic of President Paul Kagame was arrested last Friday on allegations of fleeing the country to join a rebel movement operating in Burundi.
Local reports allege he attempted to bribe his way out of the country but local residents in Nyaruguru district declined his money and handed him over to police.
Some of Mihigo’s fans took to social media demanding answers from the government about his death.
Activists in the diaspora have dismissed the statement from the Rwandan police. They say Mihigo had no intention of joining rebels in Burundi but he in fact wanted to get to Belgium where he had lived before.
They also do not believe he killed himself in the police cell and think he was murdered.
In 2015, the singer was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being convicted of planning to kill President Paul Kagame and inciting hatred against the government.
He was pardoned by the president in 2018 on condition that he only leave the country with judicial permission.
But government critics think he was targeted because of his music.
In one song he suggested everyone killed during the 1994 genocide should be remembered whether they were ethnic Hutus or Tutsis. The authorities saw this as openly challenging the official narrative that it was a genocide of the Tutsis.
Mr Kagame is a Tutsi, who came to power as head of a rebel group which forced from power the Hutu extremist government behind the mass killings.
Mihigo was once close to Mr Kagame’s governing Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). He is a survivor of the 1994 genocide and is well known for his reconciliation work and religious songs.