The family of the late King of Rwanda Mutara III Rudahigwa commemorated his 65th death anniversary at the Mwima Mausoleum in Nyanza District on July 25, where he is buried together with his wife, Queen Rosalie Gicanda, and his brother, Kigeli V Ndahindurwa, who was the last king of Rwanda.

Rudahigwa ruled the country from 1931 until his death in 1959 in Bujumbura, in what many Rwandans allege was an assassination plotted by the Belgian colonialists. On the other hand, the Belgian authorities claim he complained of a severe headache and had been treated by his doctor, but collapsed as he left the hospital.

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The national hero’s death is said to be the beginning of the country’s political upheaval and decades of persecution of the Tutsi that eventually birthed the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi.

Rudahigwa is credited for championing major political, social, and economic reforms, despite the trying times of colonialism. As documented by Historian Dantès Singiza, below are some of the key achievements that also make him celebrated until today.

Political changes

"In the political domain, we note the abolition of royalties in kind and labour for the benefit of the king, the reunification of political commands, the creation of the King&039;s Council in 1931, which became, in 1942, the Country Council and in 1952, the Superior Council of the Country; - encouraging the war effort of the Rwandan population during the Second World War,” Singiza noted.

He also added that Rudahigwa is credited, among others, for the elections in 1952 of the chieftaincy and sub-chieftaincy councils, among others.

Economic changes

Singiza also noted that in the economic field, the reign of Rudahigwa was characterized by construction of roads, compulsory growing of food crops, reforestation to combat drought, tea, and coffee crops, and mining.

It is also when we see the introduction of cotton, pyrethrum, and tobacco as new cash crops as well as the arrival of new mining companies like the Geological and Mining Company of Ruanda-Urundi or GEORUANDA (1943), and the Company Research and Mining Exploitation of Ruanda-Urundi or COREM (1946).

Rudahigwa also inaugurated the Nyanza dairy and the Gisenyi brewery.

"He also abolished the customary chores, ‘uburetwa’, as well as colonial chores, ‘akazi’, and in 1954, pastoral clientelism, ‘ubuhake’, criticized for some of its restrictive aspects,” Singiza noted.

Social changes

In the social aspect, it is under Rudahigwa that we see the creation of the Rwandan written press illustrated by periodicals such as Kinyamateka (1933), and Écho du Séminaire/L'ami (1938, 1945).

"We also see the fight against the Ruzagayura famine of 1943-1944, and the creation of the Mutara III Scholarship Fund intended to finance the studies abroad of promising young Rwandans,” Singiza noted.

Rudahigwa later died in 1959, in what is believed by many Rwandans as an assassination in Bujumbura, Burundi, on his way to New York at the UN headquarters. He intended to ask for Rwanda’s independence from the Belgians. His death remains a mystery until today.

He is in the Imena category of national heroes, who seconds Imanzi, and who is reputed for their extraordinary acts for the country which are characterized by supreme sacrifice, high importance, and example. He was put in the category because he fought for Rwanda's independence, among others.

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Family speaks out

Clothilde Umubyeyi, a member of Rudahigwa’s family and Inteko Izirikana, an association of elderly people in Rwanda whose mission is to educate young Rwandans about the country’s culture, said that July 25 is a day to remember the King’s bravery.

"We commemorate the death of the King, and we know that he was killed because he was fighting for the unity of Rwandans that the colonists were destroying. After 65 years, with reference to the recent elections, we can now see that the unity is back in a commendable way,” Umubyeyi told The New Times in an interview.

She added: "Today we have come to tell him that ‘God responded to your fight for unity, rest in peace, because we are also at peace.’”

Umubyeyi, who is also a Historian, said that just like Rudahigwa, his father, Yuhi V Musinga, was also a victim of his fight for Rwanda’s unity. He was deposed by the Belgian colonial administration because of his resistance to colonialism.

Rudahigwa was assassinated with impunity, and his killing remains officially unsolved.