Corneille was born in Freiburg im Breisgau , Germany , although he spent much of his childhood in Rwanda . He discovered his passion for music in 1993 , and so joined an R&B group , who won the Découverte 1993 competition . This also introduced him to songwriting and musical composition . However , his life changed after the Rwandan genocide in 1994 . His father , Émile Nyungura , was a leader of the political party PSD thought to be opposed to the RPF and therefore a target ; Corneille witnessed the assassination of his parents and his three brothers and sisters when he was 17 years old . He fled to Germany , where some of his parents ' friends took him in
Rwandan genocide
Rwandan genocide
Corneille (singer)