Kigeli V Ndahindurwa (born June 29, 1936) was the ruling King (Mwami) of Rwanda from 25 Jul 1959 until 28 Jan 1961.[1] He was born in Kamembe, Rwanda. His Christian name is Jean-Baptiste Ndahindurwa.
Contents |
He received his education at Groupe Scolaire d'Astrida in Rwanda, and at Nyangezi College in the modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo.
After King Mutara Rudahigwa died under mysterious circumstances in 1959, he was replaced on the throne by his younger brother Jean-Baptiste Ndahindurwa as King Kigeli V of Rwanda.
Political instability and tribal conflict grew despite the efforts of King Kigeli Ndahindurwa. An increasingly restive Hutu population, encouraged by the Belgian military, sparked a revolt in November 1959. In 1961, King Kigeli V was in Kinshasa to meet with Secretary-General of the United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld when Dominique Mbonyumutwa, with the support of the Belgian government, led a coup d'état that took control of the government. The coup resulted in the 1961 referendum about the fate of the monarchy. The majority voted against monarchy King Kigeli V was overthrown. He initially fled into exile to Tanganyika, where he lived in Dar es Salaam (1961–1962). Then he moved to Nairobi, Kenya (1963–1971). He lived also in Kampala, Uganda (1972–1978) and in Nairobi (1979–1992) and since 1992 he has lived in Washington, D.C., United States.
In June 1992, he was granted political asylum by the United States and lives in Washington, D. C..[2] He has traveled internationally to speak on behalf of the Rwandan people and repeatedly called for peace and harmony between the different groups. King Kigeli V has continued to remember the victims of the Rwandan Genocide and makes every attempt to reconcile between all political, ethnic, and religious parties in Rwanda to use the democratic process to solve any disputes. Kigeli is a friend of former South African president Nelson Mandela.
King Kigeli V was invited by the Delta Phi Epsilon Alpha chapter at Georgetown University and gave a speech, "The Rwanda Genocide: The Most Preventable Tragedy of Our Time".[3]
In an August 2007 BBC interview, Kigeli expressed an interest in returning to Rwanda if the Rwandan people are prepared to accept him as their constitutional monarch. He said that he had met President Paul Kagame and that Kagame had told him that he and his family were free to return, but Kigeli said that in order to do so, he needed to know if the people still wanted him to be king. According to Kigeli, Kagame said that he would consult the government about the issue.[4]
He currently heads the King Kigeli V Foundation,[5] whose mission is to bring humanitarian initiatives on behalf of Rwandese refugees. King Kigeli V awards the Royal Order of the Intare[6] to individuals.
Orders and decorations received by the King:
|
Kigeli V of Rwanda
House of Ndahindurwa
Born: 1936 |
||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Mutara III |
King of Rwanda 25 July 1959 – 28 January 1961 |
Vacant
Monarchy abolished
|
| Titles in pretence | ||
| Loss of title Coup d'état
|
— TITULAR — King of Rwanda 28 January 1961 – present |
Incumbent |