Former Detroit City Council member Kwame Kenyatta dies at 63

DETROIT – Former Detroit City Council member Kwame Kenyatta has died at the age of 63.

The cause of death has not yet been released.

Kenyatta was a member of the City Council during some of Detroit's most tumultuous times. He was the first to put in writing that then-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick needed to resign.

He spent 2006 to 2013 on the City Council and was a former Wayne County commissioner and a member of the Detroit school board.

In 2012 Kenyatta announced that he wouldn't be seeking re-election. He resigned from office abruptly in June 2013. He had been dealing with health problems prior to leaving the city council.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan released the following statement:

“From his time as a Wayne County commissioner to his service as a member of Detroit City Council, Kwame Kenyatta was a fine public servant who fought hard for what he believed in and made our city a better place.”

READ: Detroit council member Kwame Kenyatta quits