In the previous article in this series, we looked at how King Mutara III Rudahigwa died in 1959 under dubious circumstances. King Kigeli V Ndahindurwa was crowned in what colonialists and Hutu militants called a coup d’état. Rwandans wanted their king but colonialists and the Hutu militants did not. Social and political saga for Rwandans had begun as the course of history would later reveal. Across the spectrum of these serialized narratives, we saw that Hutu, Tutsi and Twa connotations were manipulated to suit political ends. Before colonial machinations, the words had social connotations, not racial connotations. It worsened when the elite used the same strategy to further their political ambitions. ALSO READ: Mutara III Rudahigwa, the strategist and transgenerational inspirer As we progress with the path of Rwanda’s nation-state formation, the tragic history will be laid bare. Post-independence politicians will be understood in their true colours. With King Kigeli V Ndahindurwa exiled, political party activities began. From September 1959 to May 1960, 20 political parties were born, though only four had a national outlook. The rest were based on regions. ALSO READ: How circumstances overtook Kigeli V Ndahindurwa The four parties were: Association pour la promotion de la masse (APROSOMA), Union national rwandaise (UNAR), Rassemblement democratique rwandais (RADER), Parti du movement de l’émancipation Hutu (PARMEHUTU). APROSOMA had Hutu leaning. Its president was Joseph Habyarimana Gitera. He campaigned against the monarchy. Gitera took the lead by calling on Hutu youth to use machetes to exterminate the Tutsi. He dubbed them “a deep wound, a leech inside the body, and a stomach cancer.” Gitera is also said to have told the Hutu youth: “Remember, he who kills rats does not pity those under gestation.” Rwandan Catholic bishops warned against this party because it was against the Christian spirit. UNAR was born in September 1959. Its president François Rukeba presented petitions to the United Nations. UNAR opposed any form of discrimination between blacks and whites and among Rwandans themselves. It was a nationalist party driven by brotherhood and justice, not hatred. Its recruitment centred on Rwandans as a people without basing on any form of discrimination. RADER was born in September 1959. Its president was Prosper Bwanakweli. Before that, Bwanakweli had been the chief of Rusenyi in Kibuye (in today’s Karongi District). Colonialists and missionaries blessed this party. Bwanakweli sought a centrist position. However, Col Guy Logiest, Belgium’s special military resident in Rwanda, underrated the strength of RADER. Logiest did not see it based among the people. In the violence that took place in November 1959, RADER condemned UNAR and Belgian colonialists in Rwanda as fomenters of violence. PARMEHUTU was founded in October 1959. The party was against the Tutsi as a group. It attacked them envisaging their elimination before independence. For the founders of PARMEHUTU, Rwanda had been ruled by a feudal, colonialist and racist monarchy and there had to be liberation of the Hutu-Bantu group from Tutsi colonialism. The post-monarchy, post-colonial period has begun in earnest. More is to come as we progress under the guidance of progressive researchers who were sponsored by National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC).
