Rwanda's last king Kigeli V dies

Baku. 17 October. REPORT.AZ/ The last king of Rwanda, Kigeli V, died early Sunday, Report informs citing the RIA Novosti his official website said. He was 81.

Born Jean-Baptiste Ndahindurwa in Kamembe, the monarch went into exile in 1960 after clashing with the Belgian colonial power.

In 1961, the monarchy was abolished.

Kigeli V lived in exile in several African countries before settling in the suburbs of Washington, DC, in 1992.

While in the United States, he led the King Kigeli V Foundation to aid Rwandan refugees.

Details of his death were not immediately known.

A 2013 profile of the ex-monarch in the Washingtonian magazine, found him living in subsidised housing, on food stamps and donations, in Oakton, Virginia, happy to hand out chocolates to neighbours’ children.