Prof. Thomas Rusuhuzwa Kigabo, the chief economist at the National Bank of Rwanda (BNR), succumbed to Covid-19 on Friday morning. He was 57. 

The news was confirmed by a family member who said the deceased died in a Kenyan hospital, where he had arrived on Thursday.

"He had been diagnosed with Covid-19 and was evacuated to Kenya on Thursday for treatment," the family member told The New Times on Friday, January 15.

Kigabo first joined the central bank in 2007.

In 2010, the cabinet would appoint him to head a high-level taskforce on the East African Monetary Union, effectively serving as Rwanda’s chief negotiator.

He is credited with playing an important role in the formulation and implementation of the national monetary policy, which has helped to keep inflation in check and strengthen the country's financial sector. 

Prof. Kigabo, who was also an academic, moved to the central bank after spending years as vice-chancellor of Kigali Independent University (ULK).

He was also serving as a lecturer at University of Rwanda and Jomo Kenyatta University, teaching econometrics, monetary economics, applied mathematics and microeconomics.

He held a PhD in monetary, finance and international economics from University of Lyon, France and a Masters in applied mathematics.

Born in DR Congo, Kigabo is survived by a wife and four children.