Louis Rwagasore was a Burundian prince, nationalist leader, and the country’s first elected Prime Minister who became the face of Burundi’s independence movement and pushed for an immediate end to Belgian colonial rule in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Just weeks after taking office in 1961, he was assassinated. Decades later, evidence emerged linking Belgian colonial officials to the plot.
Prince Louis Rwagasore was born on January 10th, 1932. He was the son of Mwambutsa IV, the king (Mwami) of Burundi. Both he and his father were members of the Ganwa, the noble class that had ruled the Kingdom of Burundi for centuries.
The Burundi that Rwagasore had grown up in was one under Belgian control. While Belgian colonization is most infamously known for its actions in the Congo Free State, its actions in Burundi were highly negative as well. The traditional governing methods of the kingdom were completely disregarded by Belgian colonial administrators, who imposed forced labor and heavy taxes on the populace.
Belgian authorities reinforced and formalized distinctions between Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa, often favoring Tutsi elites in administration and education. Colonial officials also promoted the Hamitic hypothesis, a racial theory that portrayed the Tutsi as outsiders who had migrated into the region and conquered the Hutu.
Modern historians generally reject this theory, noting that Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa share a common language, Kirundi, and a long, intertwined history within the Kingdom of Burundi. Despite its weak historical basis, the theory heavily influenced colonial policy and contributed to ethnic divisions that persisted after independence.
As Rwagasore completed his education in the mid-1950’s, he observed the anti colonial movements that were spreading across the continent. In West Africa Kwame Nkrumah was pushing the Gold Coast Colony closer and closer to independence, while in Kenya the Mau Mau Rebellion was raging.
Rwagasore developed a strong anti colonial mindset, and soon joined his own country’s independence movement. Though his father was unhappy with his subsequent political career, and stripped him of any opportunity to become the future Mwami, Rwagasore blazed ahead on his mission to gain Burundi’s independence.
In 1957 Rwagasore formed his own worker cooperative, the CCB. The CCB was formed as a way for Burundian merchants to fight against unfair labor practices imposed by the Belgian administration. They firstly established new trade deals between urban traders and rural farmers, and then helped Burundians to find new business deals with traders in Tanzania.
The Belgian administration was deeply unhappy with Rwagasore’s entrance into politics. They first attempted to sidetrack his career by offering him high ranking chieftaincies, which he turned down in pursuit of a political career. When that didn’t work they attempted to smear his reputation with charges of embezzlement, which proved equally fruitless. The best that they could settle for was to unsuccessfully support Rwagasore’s political rivals.
Rwagasore’s status as Ganwa put him in a unique position to resist colonial authorities. Since Belgium ran Burundi through the monarchy, they had to be careful with how they dealt with a high ranking nobleman. As a member of the Ganwa, Rwagasore was not considered to be Hutu or Tutsi, but as a part of a distinct group that was above ethnic division. Because of this he was popular with all groups, and seen as a leader for all Burundians. His princely status was further supplanted by his strong Pan-African stances. He had fought for the improvement of the common Burundian as an activist, greatly popularizing himself among Burundians of all social classes.
Assuming leadership of UPRONA, Burundi’s most powerful early political party, in 1960, Rwagasore grew bolder in his opposition to colonialism. He called for Burundi to be granted immediate independence, pointing to neighboring Congo as proof that African self-rule was not only possible, but overdue. Belgium responded by placing him under house arrest, a move that sparked both national and international outrage.
The backlash forced the Belgians to release Rwagasore and loosen their grip on Burundian politics. When the country went to the polls in 1961, UPRONA swept the Parliamentary elections, winning 58 of the 64 available seats. The victory propelled Rwagasore to the office of Prime Minister on September 28th, 1961, at just 29 years old.
In September 1961 things looked to be trending in a positive direction for Burundi. Independence was close at hand, and the prodigal son had assumed power at the age of 29. His calls for peace, stability and advancement were well-received by the nation.
However, Rwagasore’s life was already in danger after his UPRONA party won a crushing victory over the Christian Democratic Party (PDC), which was widely seen as more favorable to Belgian interests. On October 13th, 1961, only two weeks into his term, Rwagasore was assassinated. He was survived by his wife Marie-Rose Ntamikevyo and their two daughters.
The assassin that pulled the trigger was Jean Kageorgis, a Greek man working for Rwagasore’s political opponents. Kageorgis and several of his accomplices were executed in the coming months. The executions did little to heal the country’s wounds.
On July first, 1962, Burundi was officially made an independent nation. However, without Rwagasore, a power struggle broke out which culminated with the dictator Michel Micombero seizing power in 1966. The country would go on to be devastated by civil wars in the 1970s and 90s. The root of the instability was clearly Rwagasore’s death.
Rwagasore’s assassination was not an isolated event. The era of African decolonization was marked by the removal and deaths of several influential nationalist leaders. In Cameroon, Ruben Um Nyobè was killed by French forces in 1958, while Félix-Roland Moumié was poisoned in 1960 by an agent of the French intelligence services. In the Congo, Patrice Lumumba was assassinated in 1961 with the complicity of Belgian officials. The pattern was clear: colonial powers and their allies were often willing to use extreme measures against African leaders who threatened their political, economic, or strategic interests.
Though no Belgian officials were ever tried for Rwagasore’s killing, there was always a suspicion on the part of Burundians that they had been involved in his assassination. It was also no secret that Belgian officials had unsuccessfully tried to upend Rwagasore’s political career, adding further credence to theories of their involvement. However, the full extent to which Belgian officials had participated in the assassination was not revealed until over 50 years later.
As documents were examined, it was revealed that the colonial administration was much more involved in the assassination than previously believed. Shortly after Rwagasore’s election, high-ranking colonial officials had met and come to the conclusion that Rwagasore was to be killed.
The assassin who fired the fatal bullet himself implicated Belgian officials as the ringleaders before his execution. It is unlikely that Rwagasore’s Burundian enemies would have acted without Belgian support, and since the immediate investigation by Belgium was content to leave the blame on the Africans, the colonial apparatus was able to escape without any charges being levied.
Despite his death over six decades ago, Rwagasore continues to be revered as a national hero in Burundi. While not as well known as Kwame Nkrumah or Patrice Lumumba, he carries a similar legacy.
Sources:
https://www.africamuseum.be/en/see_do/agenda/LouisRwagasore
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/05/new-evidence-of-belgian-complicity-in-1961-killing-of-burundian-pm
https://openjournals.ugent.be/af/article/61198/galley/185602/view/
https://blackpast.org/global-african-history/prince-louis-rwagasore-1932-1961/
https://www.larevuetoudi.org/fr/story/lassassinat-du-premier-ministre-burundais-louis-rwagasore#footnote10_g49tj28
