Sixty-three years ago, yesterday, the then King of Rwanda, Mutara III Rudahigwa Charles Léon Pierre, travelled to Bujumbura to meet with Belgian colonial authorities about his impending trip to New York at the UN headquarters. He intended to ask for Rwanda’s independence from Belgians. In Bujumbura, he spent a night in a hotel, with a plan to go for a yellow fever vaccination the next day, on July 25, which was necessary for his upcoming trip. Rudahigwa went to Clinique Prince Régent Charles in Bujumbura, then a high-end medical facility whose doctors were Belgian and patients were exclusively royals or white. A story is told that when the monarch lied down on the hospital bed to take his shot, he never woke up. Word immediately reached his entourage at the hotel, and eventually in Rwanda where he was brought for burial. While his Belgian doctor, Dr Julien Vyncke, and a nurse were believed to be the only ones present at the time of his death, rumours that he had been deliberately killed by the Belgian authorities were widespread, and tensions rose. It is reported that some Rwandans gathered along routes and stoned Europeans cars. Nevertheless, Belgian authorities said that he complained of a severe headache and had been treated by his doctor, but collapsed as he left the hospital, and they also had another version that he died from a reaction to a penicillin shot. Both narratives however, are not backed by any facts, since an autopsy was not made. Rwandans were also not ready to believe any stories from Belgians, because Rudahigwa was a physically healthy man whom they believed would not be killed by any illness. Steven Mutangana, a Rwandan author told The New Times that a book by another writer, Jean Berchmans Kimenyi, exposed events at the hospital, where apparently, a Congolese nurse who was present confirmed that the king was indeed killed by his doctor, whom he trusted. Apparently, the nurse ran in the hospital shouting “Mfalme wa Rwanda wanamuua,” (Swahili for ‘they have killed the king of Rwanda) and after his death, the doctor was sent to South Africa and the nurse was sent to Congo-Belge, the present-day Democratic Republic of Congo. “The cause of his death has many different versions, and until now, it remains a mystery. Many believe he was betrayed by the colonial government and André Perraudin who was the Archbishop of Kabgayi,” Mutangana added. Every July 25, members of the Inteko izirikana, a council of senior citizens in Rwanda, and members of Abahindiro clan – which produced several kings including Rudahigwa, gather in Nyanza district to remember him and hold a mass in Rudahigwa’s honour. Dr. Juru Ruranganwa, 78, remembers the monarch’s requiem mass in 1959. He was at the time in his first high school year in a seminary, Kabgayi, and was among the young choir that sang. He told The New Times that while Rwandans are generally hurt by the circumstances in which he died, he is remembered as a national hero because he died on a mission to save Rwanda, what is referred to as ‘gutabarira uRwanda’. “They betrayed him and killed him. They knew he was well protected, so they couldn’t shoot him. But they knew doctors were trusted, so they used them. We feared the whites, you would raise your voice and be shot. But we honour him because he died for the country,” Ruranganwa who is a seasoned doctor and historian said. Indeed, Rudahigwa, who even made it to the list of national heroes in the ‘Imena’ category, was known to have advocated for Rwanda’s independence, and inclusiveness where he abolished ‘ubuhake’, a slavery-like system where people called abagaragu (male servants) and abaja (female servants) would work in the homes of richer families and in exchange be paid with cows. Rudahigwa is also known to have played a vital role in the welfare of Muslim people who were marginalized by the Belgians. The aftermath Ruranganwa explained to The New Times that the Belgian government wanted to find a replacement for him as soon as possible, and best to end the monarchy. “There is a saying in Kinyarwanda ‘uRwanda nti rurara umwami’ which meant that the deceased king had to only be buried after another has been enthroned. The Belgians didn’t care about it and wanted Rudahigwa buried as soon as possible “They were shocked when the ‘Batwa’, the finest soldiers of the kingdom came in large numbers with their bows and arrows to prevent the burial from happening until his brother, Kigeli V Ndahindurwa was crowned king,” Ruranganwa said. Meanwhile, Mutangana explained that however, although Ndahindurwa was crowned, he never got to rule, something that was premeditated by the Belgian government after Rudahigwa’s death. He was in fact, exiled, and hence the persecution of Tutsi people in the first and second republics by Gregoire Kayibanda and Juvenal Habyarimana, respectively. “After Rudahigwa’s death, Rwanda faced problems that included the persecution of Tutsi. The PARMEHUTU (The Party of the Hutu Emancipation Movement) perceived them as the ‘enemies’ of the state, and agreed with the colonialists to exterminate Tutsi instead of getting independence,” Mutangana explained. No one was ever held accountable for the King’s death, justice Rwandans were denied, for 63 years now.
