Introduction

Background

Rwanda, a compact and centrally located nation characterized by its mountainous terrain and rich volcanic soil, has wielded considerable influence over the African Great Lakes region for centuries. From the mid-18th century onwards, a Rwandan kingdom began to assert dominance over the area, as Tutsi monarchs progressively expanded their royal court's authority into surrounding regions while broadening their territory through military conquests. Although the contemporary ethnic identifiers Hutu and Tutsi existed prior to colonialism, their significance and adaptability have fluctuated over the years, often reflecting more of a class hierarchy than a distinct ethnic or cultural separation. Both the majority Hutu and the minority Tutsi have historically shared a common language and cultural practices, with frequent intermarriage occurring between the two groups.

The Tutsi king, known as mwami, was at the heart of the Rwandan royal court, which depended on a vast network of political, cultural, and economic connections. The social categories became increasingly rigid during the reign of RWABUGIRI (1860-1895), who prioritized aggressive territorial expansion and the reinforcement of Rwanda's bureaucratic systems. The German colonial conquest commenced in the late 1890s, with the territory being handed over to Belgian forces in 1916 during World War I. Both colonial powers quickly recognized the advantages of governing through the established Tutsi monarchy. Colonial governance amplified the trends towards autocratic and exclusionary practices, resulting in the dismantling of traditional authority positions held by Hutus. Belgian administrators raised the demands for communal labor and imposed severe taxation, leading to widespread discontent among the population. Shifts in political sentiment within Belgium also played a role, as colonial and Catholic officials began to redirect their support from Tutsi to Hutu leaders in the period leading up to independence.

Deep-rooted grievances regarding minority rule erupted in 1959, three years prior to gaining independence from Belgium, when Hutus successfully overthrew the Tutsi king. In the aftermath, thousands of Tutsis were killed over the subsequent years, and around 150,000 were forced into exile in neighboring nations. In 1973, Army Chief of Staff Juvenal HABYARIMANA took control of the government in a coup, ruling Rwanda as a single-party state for twenty years. HABYARIMANA's regime increasingly marginalized Tutsis, and extremist factions among the Hutu population gained traction following the introduction of multiple political parties in the early 1990s. The offspring of Tutsi exiles formed a rebel group known as the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), initiating a civil war in 1990. The conflict heightened ethnic tensions and culminated in the 1994 shooting down of HABYARIMANA’s private jet. This incident triggered a state-sponsored genocide, resulting in the deaths of over 800,000 Rwandans, including about three-quarters of the Tutsi population. The genocide concluded later that same year when the predominantly Tutsi RPF, operating from Uganda and northern Rwanda, defeated the national army and Hutu militias, leading to the establishment of a government of national unity led by the RPF. Rwanda conducted its inaugural local elections in 1999, followed by its first presidential and legislative elections post-genocide in 2003, which solidified President Paul KAGAME’s de facto leadership. KAGAME was officially elected in 2010 and again in 2017 after amending the constitution to permit a third term candidacy.