Kaya
19. Feb, 2010 
3 Comments
On February 18, 1999 Joseph Réginald Topize, alias Kaya, was arrested for smoking marijuana at a meeting organised by the Mouvement Republicain Party. He died in custody three days later. His death sparked a wave of protest in urban areas and three days of unrest in Mauritius, forcing the closure of all schools, businesses and offices and the shutdown of economic activities.
The first autospy revealed that the singer died due to skull fracture. The police was quick to deny this and a further autospy concluded that his skull was not fractured. Clearly, either the doctor performing the first autospy was remarkably incompetent, or there is something fishy about the second medical investigation.
Four people died during the three days of protest, including another singer, Agathe. Sadly, the protest movement took a communal twist with clashes between the Creol and Hindu communities: the houses of some Creoles located in a predominantly Hindu village were burnt down during the days of rioting.
11 years later, Kaya is still reknowned as an exceptional artist and the inventor of a new musical style: seggae. Joseph Topize chose Kaya as artist name since he was a fan of Bob Marley – Kaya is a roots reggae album released by Bob Marley and the Wailers. The tape includes the famous songs Is This Love and Sun is Shining. His music style has, and still influences, the artistic world of Mauritius. Kaya clearly belongs to the pantheon of the most influentials sons of Mauritius.
11 years already! That was a scary period in my life. I can still hear the roar of the protesting crowds on a quest to create chaos. They even burned down a street of houses belonging to the Creoles in my ‘village’.
Mauritius lost a beautiful artist. I still hum on his tunes sometimes….
R.I.P Kaya…
screw you know who..