The New Times’ first Editor-in-Chief Rogers Kayihura passed on in the night of Tuesday, September 17.

Kayihura succumbed to a disease while he was receiving treatment in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.

He was 64 years old.

News of Kayihura’s death has broken hearts of The New Times family, some of whom worked with him in the early years of the newspaper.

Friends, family and members of the media fraternity who knew him have sent tributes and shared their fond memories of him on various social media platforms.

Kayihura was Editor-in-Chief from September 1995, when The New Times published its first issues, until around 1998, when he joined then public broadcaster ORINFOR.

He was working with the World Bank as their external communication officer until his passing.

Kayihura is survived by his wife Marie Michele Umulisa, and their four children, two girls and two boys.

According to one of Kayihura’s relatives, his body will be returned to Kigali from Nairobi on Saturday morning.

The burial is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.