HUNDREDS of mourners turned up as Rwandan musician Henry Hirwa was laid to rest in Rusororo public cemetery on Wednesday.

The music fraternity came together to send off one of their own. The association of artistes and songwriters also had a delegation at the burial.

The somber mood was characterised by moving eulogies from relatives and friends. Also among the mourners was the Minister of Sports and Culture, Protais Mitali who extended his thoughts and prayers to Hirwa's loved ones.

Several people including fans, fainted out of distraught as his casket was being lowered. The late Hirwa's young sister Aurore Kayibanda Mutesi fainted after seeing the casket carrying the body of her brother.

The 27-year-old singer drowned in L. Muhazi last Saturday while on a picnic with friends. He was pronounced dead at Rwamagana Hospital where he had been rushed after the incident.

Hirwa was a member of the Kigali Boys Group - KGB which comprised of Yvan Manzi, Gaston Rurangwa and the late Hirwa.

The singer, who referred to himself as Rasta, will be remembered in the KGB's songs, including Abakobwa b'iKigali, Ruhurura and Bibi.

Hirwa was born in 1985 to Ladislas Kayibanda and Olive Mukazera in Bujumbura, Burundi. He was the only son in a family of four, among them reigning Miss Rwanda Aurore Kayibanda Mutesi.

He attended primary education in Burundi, before returning to Rwanda with his family. He completed his secondary education at APAPE before joining Kigali Institute of Management (KIM).

Hirwa started his music career as a dancer with Cool Friends Crew, before joining the Kigali Boys Group, commonly known as KGB in 2003.