When Rwanda marked 60 years since gaining independence on July 1, 2022, former minister Charles Murigande told The New Times that the country did not attain true independence in 1962. “Yes, we got our sovereignty as a country, but a section of Rwandans was chased out while others who remained were persecuted, oppressed, treated as second-class citizens, and killed,” he said. “It was not until July 4, 1994, that Rwanda became truly independent.” Indeed, what occurred on July 1, 1962, was not full independence. Rather, it was a symbolic transition—what many have described as a poisoned chalice handed over by Belgium to President Grégoire Kayibanda, who was installed to implement Belgium’s vision for Rwanda. Similarly, when Cameroon marked 60 years of independence on January 1, 2020, historian Edward Nfor remarked that France had deceived the world in 1960 by declaring Cameroon independent while maintaining control. President Paul Biya is often cited as one of the African leaders who most loyally upheld France’s so-called Françafrique pact—an arrangement that allowed France to retain political and economic dominance over its former colonies. These two countries—Rwanda and Cameroon—share a unique history: they were both former German colonies, later placed under United Nations trusteeship, and both countries, unlike most of their peers, do not commemorate their independence days. A legacy of mandate and trusteeship After World War I, in 1919, the League of Nations placed Rwanda, Burundi, and German Cameroon under mandate systems administered by Belgium, Britain, and France. Rwanda and Burundi went to Belgium; Cameroon was split, with France and Britain taking control of the east and west, respectively. These were not colonies in the traditional sense but trust territories. Following World War II, the League of Nations’ mandates were transferred to the United Nations, with the requirement that the territories eventually gain independence through UN-supervised referenda. However, that never happened. France declared Cameroon independent on January 1, 1960, and Belgium followed suit with Rwanda on July 1, 1962—without the referenda that were supposed to legitimize the process. Technically, neither colonial power had the authority to unilaterally grant independence. Why Cameroon doesn’t celebrate January 1 Instead of January 1, 1960, Cameroon observes May 20 as its national day—the date in 1972 when a referendum transformed the country from a federal to a unitary state. This followed independence arrangements that had split Cameroon between the French and British, leading to the Anglophone-Francophone divide that persists today. While French Cameroon became “independent” in 1960, the British-controlled region was merged with Nigeria. It was not until 1961 that a referendum saw part of British Cameroon reunite with the French side, forming a federal republic. In 1972, the federal structure was dismantled, and the country was renamed the United Republic of Cameroon. May 20 is therefore celebrated not as a mark of decolonization, but of national unification—though many Cameroonians see it as masking the continued dominance of France and marginalization of Anglophone regions. For many, celebrating independence would mean endorsing the political subjugation and manipulation that began at independence and continue in various forms today. Why Rwanda doesn’t celebrate July 1 In Rwanda, the date of independence is also met with indifference—if not outright rejection. The transition in 1962 occurred against a backdrop of ethnic violence. The first wave of killings targeting the Tutsi began in 1959, supported by Belgian colonial authorities and the Catholic Church. The violence intensified in March 1962, just months before independence, when local leaders incited and led massacres of Tutsi communities. Grégoire Kayibanda, supported by the Belgian administration, became Rwanda’s first president. His government embraced the ideology that Hutu and Tutsi were separate and incompatible nations, a belief he famously summarised in 1963 when he predicted “the abrupt end of the Tutsi race.” This ideology framed the Tutsi not as fellow citizens but as a threat to be eliminated. Rather than using independence to build a unified country, Kayibanda’s administration institutionalized ethnic persecution. His successor, Juvenal Habyarimana, who seized power in a 1973 coup, continued this trajectory—under the patronage of French authorities. His rule culminated in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, which was stopped by the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) on July 4 of that year. July 4: Rwanda’s true Independence July 4, 1994, marked the fall of the genocidal regime and the end of decades of oppression. It was the moment when Rwanda was truly liberated—not from foreign rule alone, but from the ideology of division and extermination that had governed the country since before independence. Today, Rwanda celebrates Liberation Day on July 4. It commemorates not just the military victory of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, but the rebirth of the Rwandan nation as a unified and inclusive society. As such, it is a date that signifies true independence—liberation from both colonial manipulation and internal oppression. Unlike the dates on which colonial powers declared them “independent,” July 4 for Rwanda and May 20 for Cameroon reflect deeper transformations. These are the days when their people began to reclaim ownership of their destinies.
