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A King With No Country
Illustration By Edel Rodriguez.
Comments () | Published March 27, 2013














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People & Politics
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  • tesmith47

    our country is still destabilizing and generally screwing up countries in Africa, but the average American still thinks that our country is doing good in the world because we send a little help , sometimes , during weather crisis; but all the rest of the time robbing them blind. classic hypocrisy, too bad there is no god to judge us.

  • ThatGuy

    Did any of you retards actually read his story? Or are you all too caught up on "DEPORT HIS AFRICAN ASS"? The stupidity of your xenophobia and your mindless regurgitation of these right-wing talking points (i.e. why am I, a hard-working WalMart employee, paying for this man's meager subsistence) is mind-boggling.

  • Israel Ntaganzwa

    Hi Ariel!

    Congratulations, the article came out very well and as I told you during the meeting in Virginia,Rwanda subject is very controversial, because of the well and carefully place inaccuracies in every encyclopedia and other which has made it impossible to get a clear picture of Rwanda. Please next time do not quote Jan Vansina..When he was in Rwanda,he was on Belgian colonial administration payroll, therefore, his objectivity on Rwandan issue is very limited. He was given a nickname "Gahutu" because of his small physical stature and his over exaggerated pretense of sympathizing with Bahutu. Timothy Longman is one of Vansina's old students at Madison, Wisconsin, therefore, he cannot see his old teacher's biases. As Timothy Longman pointed out in his cynical remarks, Rwandan Kings were wealthy in their land and did indeed owned thousands of cattle which was in reality the symbol of the wealth of their nation.

    How many Bahutu and how many Batutsi attended the conference? One of your colleagues called me at my residence and asked me that question. I told her that as I was in charge of the security, I checked the guests' names to match them on the list I was given, but I could not identify or determine who was a Muhutu or a Mututsi.Whoever gave you that information I have no idea how he or she made that determination.

    Feudalism? Can you really compare the pre-colonial Rwanda to France of the dark ages? Some argue that Rwanda was a monarchy which they erroneously equate to feudalism. Another argument is that Rwanda was a feudal state because many cattle barons employed large number of Rwandans who were given cattle at the end of their contract. Indeed cattle business was the largest employer in Rwanda till 1954,when this form of employment (ubuhake) was outlawed. But in reality, it was a Belgian plot to force hard working Rwandans to go to work in mines and European plantations in Uganda,Tanzania and the Congo.Between 1931 (when King Musinga was forced into exile) and 1947,over one half million Rwandans crossed the border into Uganda, where they worked in horrible conditions.Yet nobody (English or Belgians) voiced any objections to the obvious exploitation of these workers.One of the reasons why Rwandans were fleing in such large numbers was Belgian heavy taxes, forced mandatory labor and the whip.

    His Majesty King Kigeri did not flee the country because of a revolt as you were led to believe.He had a meeting with Dag Hammarskjold and Belgians were not happy about it. That is why they did not want him back in Rwanda.As you pointed out,he managed to enter the country on the eve of the elections that was to decide if Rwandans wanted a pro-Belgian republic or an independent monarchy.In his new book,Julien Nyssens,an old colonial Assistant Administrateur explains how they searched for the King all over the city of Kigali and found him at the residence of Francois Rukeba,,the head of the UNAR party (I think Jean-Marie gave you the article).Why did Belgians want the King not to be present where he was a candidate? That you can ask them and if that was really a democracy,I personally want no part of it. The article you used from NY Times was written by an English diplomat who knew very little about Rwanda.I am sure that NY Times knew and still knows much less about Rwanda. I did not know that Amsterdam was in business in 1961! : "A Mututsi King: The white man lost another one." Indeed, but they spoke too soon! Amsterdam News published a bunch of my articles during the genocide, and I am going to send them a note about the King.

    I do not know how anybody can blame Rwandans including King Kigeri himself for all the calamities that have befallen Rwanda since 1916. Belgian colonialism was guilty of the atrocities that were committed during the 45 years that they ruled our land. As you correctly pointed out,King Yuhi Musinga was forcefully removed and sent to the Congo .His son Mutara Rudahigwa never tried to hide his attitude towards Belgians and that is why they killed him. They even refused an autopsy to be performed, because it would have revealed who and what killed him. King Kigeri,though tried to work with Belgians,for them it was too late, because according to John Gunther (1955) of NY Times, paranoid Belgians were expecting a "Mau Mau" war led by Rwandan Kings! Doccuments related to Musinga,Rudahigwa and Kigeri Ndahindurwa are still classified in Belgium. Why??

    To many of us Rwandans who grew up after King Kigeri was exiled, we were told all kinds of fabricated lies about him and we all believed it.In 1990 when I was in Nairobi I had an opportunity to meet the King for the first time, and I cannot describe how ashamed I felt, after I met him and spoke to him briefly.When I got back to New York I contacted other Rwandans including the late Alexandre Kimenyi,a very dear friend and a Professor of Linguistics at the University of California at Sacramento,who made me realize that all those stories I had heard were with no foundation whatsoever.

    Among those who have displayed a virulent hatred for King Kigeri Ndahindurwa is Paul Kagame.I was told that there is still a lot of bad blood between Kagame's family and the King,but I have not been able to learn much about it.All I know is that as I pointed out to you,Kagame does not want to be no.2 in Rwanda, his private real estate, as Congo was once King Leopold II's personal property.That is obviously why he got rid of Pasteur Bizimungu under whom he served as vice President. It was in his capacity as the new vice President that he went to Virginia to meet with the King to discuss his return to Rwanda. The King was stunned but not really surprised, when Kagame asked him to return to Rwanda as a private citizen, where he would be given a pension. In other words, Kagame had the audacity to ask the King of Rwanda to abdicate! To abandon his responsibilities. Belgians had tried the same thing in 1961, when Paul Henri Spaak, the Flemish Minister for Foreign affairs offered him a monthly pension of 35,000 Belgian francs or 3,500 euros! No amount of money can buy a Rwandan King. That will never happen.
    The final question today concerning King Kigeri Ndahindurwa, as far as many Rwandans are concerned, is that maybe things have changed and Rwanda does not need a monarchy system. Belgium, England, Holland and others in Europe have their Kings,so why shouldn't Rwanda have back its King? As for those like Kagame who are opposed to the King for their own benefit or because of their political ideology,the King has no problem with that, because in a true democracy that has eluded Rwanda till now, every Rwandan voice should be heard. Until the day when Rwandans will be given their right to freely make their own decision,King Kigeri Ndahindurwa remains their King.
    What bothers many Rwandans, however,is the fact that the King was removed by Belgians, the "enemy" who had colonized the nation and did a lot of damage that included the efforts to end its monarchy.The return of the King then means a revenge and the real independence to restore our culture. At this particular time when the country has been torn apart and left killers to live with their victims, the King is the only one who is trusted by both sides to step in and lay solid foundations for a true national reconciliation which remains a joke and torture for both sides under the current admnistration.

  • tesmith47

    thank you for telling the truth. about western influence in Africa, people should read the book "King Leopold's Ghost" (the Belgians were absolutely demonic!!!)to get a real idea of why there was, and still is so much turmoil in Africa.

    the problem with a lot of white Americans , that they do not know the facts, believe the dis-information AND subconsciously feel guilty, so they lash out against Blacks here and in Africa.

    Blacks here and in Africa would forgive past bad behavior IF westerners / Whites would stop their PRESENT bad behavior!!!

  • Katherine McChesney

    I'm all for shipping him home.

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Posted at 10:25 AM/ET, 03/27/2013 RSS | Print | Permalink | Comments () | Articles