History History

Until the 10th century, Rwanda was inhabited by the Twas, a people of hunter-gatherers. A century later came the Hutus, an ethnic group from the south of the African continent.

It was not until the middle of the 13th century that the first Tutsis arrived from the Nile valley. This ethnic group of nomadic pastoralists first lived in small tribes before regrouping into large communities led by powerful warriors. The Tutsis would then have launched raids in order to submit the Hutus and the Twas to their authority. The result is a complex caste society where the notion of hierarchy is predominant. However, despite the ethnic divide, the populations maintained good relations. In fact, they all spoke the same language and shared the same religion. For almost six centuries, the Tutsi mwamis (kings) succeeded one another at the head of the kingdom of Rwanda, making it one of the most powerful states in Africa, capable of resisting Arab and Western invaders.

A German explorer, Count Adolf von Götzen, crosses Rwanda for the first time with a contingent of soldiers. The German government decided to keep troops in the country to begin colonization. At the same time, missionaries from Africa landed. Called the White Fathers, they saw in this small country, which already believed in only one god, the ideal place to spread the Catholic religion.

During the First World War, the Belgians drive out the Germans and occupy the country in their turn. The authorities then relied on the White Fathers to establish their domination over the territory. Catholic missions became more and more important and vast baptismal campaigns were launched.

King Yuhi Musinga refuses to be baptized and is forced into exile. Belgium then entrusted power to his son, the mwami Mutara Rudahigwa, who had converted to Catholicism.

Rwandans are subject to a census and must specify their ethnicity. This is a difficult task because over the centuries the populations have mixed and there have been unions between Hutus and Tutsis. The administration therefore decided to impose a criterion that was arbitrary to say the least. Those who own more than ten head of cattle are considered Tutsis while the peasants become Hutus and the workers become Twas. The identity booklet bearing the mention of the ethnic group dates from this period and this racial pattern will be taught in schools until the genocide.

The Tutsi aristocracy is increasingly asserting its hostility towards the colonizers. In 1956, Mwami Mutara Rudahigwa even went so far as to raise the issue of Rwanda's independence at the UN. Three years later, he died in mysterious circumstances. The Belgian authorities then put a new Tutsi king, Kigeli V Ndahindurwa, in power. The Hutus refused to accept his succession and wanted to be integrated into the political life of the country. In 1959, demonstrations broke out and degenerated into civil war. The mwami, threatened with death, was then forced to leave the country to take refuge in Uganda.

A referendum was held and 80% of the voters wanted the establishment of a republic. Ten months later, Hutu Grégoire Kayibanda became Rwanda's first president.

The independence of the country is proclaimed. However, the policy pursued by the new government remains based on ethnic differentiation and many Tutsis are murdered.

President Kayibanda is dismissed by his Defence Minister, General Juvenal Habyarimana. If he succeeds in putting an end to the exactions, equality between castes is far from being the rule. Despite a severe dictatorship, he manages to seduce the Western democracies and international development aid is arriving en masse from Belgium, France and Germany.

The army of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), formed in Uganda by Tutsi exiles, is entering northern Rwanda in force with the aim of overthrowing the Hutu power in place. It is led by Fred Rwigema, number 2 in the Ugandan army. Faced with an offensive of such magnitude, President Habyarimana calls for help from his allies.

Fred Rwigema is killed in action. It was Paul Kagame, then head of military intelligence, who took command of the RPF.

France, Belgium and Zaire find themselves involved in the conflict. The two European countries ensure the security of the capital and evacuate their nationals while Zairian troops go to the front. President Habyarimana calls for the hunt down the Tutsis, whom he considers traitors.

The IMF and the World Bank decided to suspend their financial aid because a large part of the money was allegedly diverted by President Habyarimana to buy arms. The country is on the verge of bankruptcy. Habyarimana is forced to sign the Arusha Accords in August, which provide for an end to the civil war and the establishment of new transitional institutions. Agathe Uwilingiyimana, a member of an opposition party, is chosen as prime minister.

Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana has just returned from a regional summit in Tanzania. At his side is the newly elected President of Burundi, Cyprien Ntaryamira. Around 8pm, their plane crashed, hit by a rocket just before landing at Kigali airport. Immediately, roadblocks are erected in the capital by the police and executions begin. To this day, this attack remains unsolved.

Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana and the ten Belgian peacekeepers in charge of her protection are murdered by Hutu militiamen. Radio Télévision des Mille Collines begins its hate propaganda campaign and incites the massacre of the Tutsis. The prefects ordered the mayors to organize in every village in the country to hunt down the Tutsis.

France and Belgium are evacuating their nationals while the exterminations continue. Thousands of Tutsis but also moderate Hutus were gathered in public places such as schools or churches in order to be executed.

The Belgian Government decides to withdraw its troops from the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR). This mission was set up in October 1993 to enforce the Arusha peace agreement and protect refugees.

At the height of the killings, the UN Security Council decided to reduce UNAMIR's strength from 2,500 soldiers to just 270

At a crisis meeting in New York, the UN Security Council condemns the massacres perpetrated by the Rwandan government. Yet the United States and France still refuse to use the term genocide.

The population goes into mass exile to escape the massacres. More than 250,000 Rwandans are fleeing to Tanzania while thousands more are heading for Uganda or Zaire.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is visiting Kigali to assess the situation. He utters the word genocide.

Exodus of more than 500,000 Rwandans to Gitarama, the southern province of Rwanda less affected by the massacres

Change of course by the UN Security Council, which organizes a UNAMIR II mission and authorizes the deployment of 5,000 peacekeepers to protect the population.

France, with the agreement of the UN Security Council, is organizing Operation Turquoise, whose mission is to create a secure military zone to protect populations from genocide. This operation remains highly controversial to this day. Some believe that it facilitated the escape of the genocidaires.

The RPF succeeded in taking control of Butare and the capital Kigali. Rwandan forces are routed.

The RPF reached Ruhengeri and Gisenyi and now controls most of the country. The end of the war is declared.

The RPF is setting up a government of national unity for a transitional period of five years. Pastor Bizimungu, a Hutu of the RPF, became head of state while Paul Kagame became vice-president.

The UN establishes the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Tanzania. It is to try those responsible for acts of genocide. A total of around 60 people have been tried by this tribunal.

Rwanda is joining forces with Uganda to help rebel forces in Zaire because many genocidaires have retreated there. This military intervention results in the overthrow of the dictator Mobutu.

Pastor Bizimungu is resigning. It is Paul Kagame who replaces him by decision of the Transitional National Assembly.

Paul Kagame was officially elected President of the Republic in 2003 with 95% of the vote. He was re-elected in 2010. To his credit, an exemplary fight against corruption, spectacular progress in terms of development, a particularly dynamic economic growth and the stability of the country. Rwanda officially joined the East African Community (EAC) in 2007 and was admitted to the Commonwealth in 2009. The death penalty is permanently abolished in Rwanda. Diplomatic relations were re-established with France.

A historic trial of alleged perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide opens before the Paris Assize Court. French justice reopens the investigation into the 1994 attack on the plane of Rwandan President Habyarimana. The same year, the French prosecutor's office announced the opening of an investigation into the role of twenty French officials in the 1994 genocide.

Paul Kagame's third term begins. He will be appointed in 2018 by his African peers to succeed his Guinean counterpart Alpha Condé as the rotating chair of the African Union.

Appointment of Louise Mushikiwabo as Secretary General of the International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF).

The Paris Court of Appeals confirms the decision to dismiss the case in December 2018 by the investigating judges of the Paris anti-terrorism unit in the investigation into the death of Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana in April 1994. That same year, Félicien Kabuga, one of the main alleged perpetrators of the genocide, was arrested in France.

A report on France's role in the Rwandan genocide was submitted to President Emmanuel Macron. This report establishes "a set of heavy and damning responsibilities" for Paris. Official and highly symbolic visit of the French president to Rwanda (May 2021). In a speech delivered at the genocide memorial in Kigali, Emmanuel Macron acknowledges "(the) responsibilities" of France in the 1994 genocide. This highly symbolic visit marks the final step in the normalization of relations between the two countries, after more than twenty-five years of diplomatic tensions.

Against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, the latest report from the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) forecasts growth of 10.9% in 2021. Paul Kagame is positioning himself for the 2024 presidential election and is expected to run for a fourth term. According to a constitutional reform, adopted in 2015, the Rwandan president can theoretically remain in power until 2034.