Bonaventure Nkeshimana, one of the three pioneers of IofC's programme Reconciliation in the Great Lakes region, died 20 August shortly after having landed at Dar es Salaam airport, where he went on a peace mission.

Four years after the death of Michel Kipoke, this is another blow for the team responsible for the programme 'strengthening peace in Burundi'. Bonaventure was a tireless activist for peace. He was always ready to take on a project and to run with it. He had won the trust of his compatriots of all political camps, including the toughest extremists. A former member of parliament in the  Burundi National Assembly, he had a deep knowledge of the situation at the grassroots and on the political scene. He knew how to discern what made people tick and to weigh the issues at stake. His death is a great loss for his country Burundi and for the Great Lakes region.

According to local medical authorities and clinical signs, there is no doubt that his kidneys could not resist a sharp attack of malaria. He is survived with a wife and 7 children, most of which are living in France.