A Georgetown law student was among the 157 people killed in the Ethiopian Airlines flight en route to Nairobi, Kenya, on Sunday morning.
The Washington Post reports Cedric Asiavugwa was a double major in international business and economic law once he completed his studies. The Kenyan-born 32-year-old was a campus ministry member and residential minister who spent eight years in Africa and the United States studying Jesuit Catholic tradition.
Asiavugwa was traveling home to Nairobi to visit his fiancée's mother. He aspired to one day return home to promote human rights for refugees.
The University of Zimbabwe graduate helped establish a community-based organization at Georgetown to support the protection of women and children fleeing Somalia. He also directed a film series on peace and reconciliation along with serving as editor-in-chief of philosophy journal Chiedza.
Blavitize your inbox! Join our daily newsletter for fresh stories and breaking news.
Asiavugwa was enrolled at the Center for Applied Legal Studies and worked with refugees seeking asylum in the United States.
Per NBC Washington, Georgetown campus ministry director Fr. Greg Schenden, S.J. said Asiavugwa worked at St. Aloysius Gonzaga Secondary School, a high school in Nairobi for orphans with HIV/AIDS.
In an email to the university community, Georgetown Law Dean William Treanor said Asiavugwa was a "champion for social justice across East Africa."
"He was a beloved member of Georgetown’s Campus Ministry offices, tending to a group of first-year undergraduates for the last three years as a Residential Minister in the New South residence hall on the Hilltop and also interning in the Law Center’s Campus Ministry office," Treanor added.
As Blavity previously reported, the Boeing 737 lost contact six minutes after taking off from Bole International Airport. It is believed technical difficulties caused the crash which included 32 Kenyans, nine Ethiopians and eight passengers from the United States, among others.
The exact cause of the crash has yet to be identified.
Now, check these out:
Seattle Airport Worker Hijacks Airplane, Credits Gaming Experience For Flying Skills Before Crashing
EgyptAir confirms flight 804 crashed, terrorism likely officials say
