Rwanda Travel Guide

Rwanda Flag

There are three main groupings of people that make up Rwanda: Twa; Hutu; and Tutsi. The Twa, who make up less than 1% of the population, are pygmies, forest dwellers that survive on hunting and gathering. When the Hutu arrived in the area, they moved deeper into the forests.

The Hutu arrived in what is present-day Rwanda and Burundi from the 5th to the 11th century. A clan-based social structure, the Hutu clans were ruled by kings or Bahinza. The Bahinza derived power from the superstition that they were able to cause rain, as well as protect crops from insects and cattle from disease. The Hutu were agriculturalists.

The Tutsi first migrated gradually into the area in and around the 14th century. The Tutsi used their combat skills and prosperity due to their ownership of cattle to achieve economic, political, and social control over the Hutu. Over time, the Tutsi king or Mwami took land ownership away from the Hutu, and the land became the property of the Tutsi king.

The Hutu-Tutsi relations took the form of a client-patron contract called the ubuhake. The Hutu indentured themselves to a Tutsi lord giving him agricultural products and personal service in exchange for cattle and the use of land. The ubuhake eventually became a feudal-type class system through which land and cattle, and therefore power, were in the hands of the Tutsi minority.

The Tutsi class system was headed by the Mwami, who was considered to be of divine origin. In the middle of the 16th century, Mwami Mibambwe I Mutabazi was able to reduce the power of the neighbouring chiefs and centralize the monarchy. Early in the 19th century, Mwami Kigeli IV established the borders that were in place when the Germans arrived in 1894.

In 1885, the Conference of Berlin handed control of the area that later became Rwanda and Burundi over to the Germans. Nine years later, German Count von Götzen became the first European to travel to Rwanda. He later became the governor of German East Africa.

The Belgians, the Germans, and the British wanted possession of the Rwandan and Burundian territory, but in 1910, an agreement handed control of Rwanda and Burundi to the Germans.

The Germans ruled indirectly through the political structure that was created by the Mwami. The Germans warred against the Hutu chiefs in the north that were not under the Mwami’s control, subjugating them. In the 1920s and 1930s, the Germans ordered extensive coffee planting, demanding tax in cash, not agricultural products, in order to force the plantation of coffee. It was also at this time that the missionaries arrived in Rwanda, establishing missions and schools.

During World War I, the Belgians took control of Rwanda and Burundi. In 1923, the League of Nations handed the supervision of Rwanda and Burundi to the Belgians. The Belgians broke the power of the Mwami, modified the ubuhake system, and put an end to paying tribute. The League of Nations determination required the Belgians to integrate the Rwandans into the political landscape, which led to limited political representation in the government. In 1952, the Belgians implemented the Ten-Year Development Plan. The plan was a series of broad socioeconomic reforms, with the goal of promoting political progress and social stability. This eventually resulted in handing the Tutsi minority political, economic, and social domination over the Hutu majority.

In 1959, the Belgian administrators declared a state of emergency and called in ground forces and paratroopers from the Congo to restore order to the seven years of escalating civil unrest between the Hutu and Tutsi. A new election of communal councils took place the same year with the aim to diffuse the imbalance of Tutsi power. The UN General Assembly and the Trusteeship Council recommended that the future stability and success of the region depended on them forming a single united Rwandan-Burundi State.

The Belgian authorities, after the failed elections in 1960, granted de facto recognition to the republican Rwandan State in order to avoid more social unrest. Belgium, according to the UN, was still accountable for fulfilling their Trusteeship agreement. They were asked to supervise the elections and ensure the establishment of stable transitional governments in both Burundi and Rwanda. In April 1962, both countries decided that a political marriage was impossible due to the unresolvable long-standing historical antagonism between their two countries. That same year, the General Assembly voted to terminate the Belgian Trusteeship Agreement, and days later, Rwanda gained independence.

In 1962, Rwanda became independent and a new constitution was ratified. In 1963, the Tutsi invaded Rwanda, but were repelled and in retaliation, over 12 000 Tutsis were massacred by the Hutu. 1964 the economic union of Rwanda and Burundi was terminated, and Rwanda introduced the Rwanda Franc. In 1973, president Grégoire Kayibanda was overthrown in a bloodless coup.

Major General Juvenal Habyarimana partially suspended the constitution and dissolved the National Assembly. In 1974, Zaire, Burundi, and Rwanda agreed to cooperate in matters of defence and economic affairs. In 1975, Habyarimana launched Le Movement Révolutionnaire National pour le Développement (MRND) as the nation’s sole political party with himself at its head. Not surprisingly, he was re-elected in 1983 and 1988.

In 1990, between 5 000 and 10 000 Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) rebel group of Tutsis invaded Rwanda from neighbouring Uganda, starting the Rwandan civil war. With the help of Zaire, Belgium, and France, they were forced back into Uganda. The RPF resorted to guerrilla attacks and gained control of much of the north of the country in 1992. In 1993, negotiations between the RPF and the Rwandan government led to the signing of the Arusha Accords in July, allowing RPF personnel and other refugees to return to Rwanda.

In the meantime, and new constitution, which legalised opposition parties, was signed. 12 new parties were formed, and in March 1993, three of the major parties reached an agreement with the president, a Hutu, on forming a transitional government.

The cease-fire with the RPF ended on 6 April 1994 when President Juvenal Habyarimana and the President of Burundi were killed in an airplane crash on their way back from Dar es Salaam. It is still unknown who launched the attack, with the RPF blaming Hutu extremists in the Rwandan government and the government claiming that the RPF was responsible for the attack. Ethnic violence again erupted, and so started the Rwandan genocide.

A short time after the crash, in Kigali, Hutu members of the MRND and CDR became victims of organized murder campaigns. The government fled to Gitarama as the RPF approached the capital. By April, thousands had been killed in Kigali. The killing of Tutsis then spread to other parts of Rwanda and continued for weeks. The Rwandan government forces were no match for the RPF and were forced to retreat.

On June 22, a French force of 2500 landed in Zaire, and then crossed into Rwanda and set up what was called the “safe area” on the south-western Zaire border. By this time, it was estimated that half a million people had been killed. On July 4, the RPF completed the capture of Kigali, Butare, Ruhengeri, and Gisenyi. Except for the French-occupied zone, the RPF now controlled all of Rwanda. On July 17, the RPF announced that Pasteur Bizimungu had been chosen to be President of Rwanda. The next day, the RPF declared that the war was over. A measure of stability was restored with a number of countries recognising the new government. A new Transitional National Assembly of 70 representatives was inaugurated in Kigali in accordance with the Arusha accord.

In early December, a study of the murder of Tutsis was presented to the UN panel by three African jurists. It concluded that “overwhelming evidence points to the fact that the extermination of Tutsi by the Hutu was planned months in advance. The massacres were carried out mainly by Hutus in a determined, planned, systematic and methodical manner, and were inspired by ethnic hatred.” It also stated that there were “serious reasons to conclude that Tutsis also carried out massacres, summary executions, violations of international humanitarian law and crimes against humanity with regard to Hutus.”

Early in 1995, on January 7 to be exact, President Bizimungu met with the presidents of Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia, and also the Prime Minister of Zaire with the aim to discuss Rwanda’s domestic difficulties and the problem of refugees. About 2.5 million Hutu refugees remained in Zaire, Burundi, and Tanzania, many reluctant to return. More refugees from Rwanda continued to swell these numbers.

Within Rwanda, judicial proceedings resulted in about 23 000 arrests being made. This unprecedented large scale of arrests overwhelmed the inadequate legal and penal system. Many detainees died in custody from disease and overcrowding. It is reported that this figure was as high as 300 per week. In April 1995, a new Rwandan political organization, Retour de la Democrate au Rwanda (RRD), was inaugurated, claiming to represent the Hutu refugees. In December, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda made its first formal indictments for genocide, charging eight unnamed local officials in Kibuye with the crime.

Genocide trials began in Rwanda in December 1996. By mid-1997, 142 cases had been tried, with 61 people being sentenced to death. The trials were denounced by international human rights organizations, as they claimed that many did not have adequate legal representation and were not offered the opportunity to cross-examine witnesses. In late 1996, the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (AFDLC) led by Laurent Kabila broke up the main Rwandan refugee camps in Zaire.

Bizimungu resigned in March 2000 in a dispute over the make-up of a new cabinet, and Kagame became president.

Kinyarwanda, French, and English. French is widely spoken throughout the country.

Rwanda is a developing country and has undergone rapid industrialisation, although agriculture is the highest contributor to the GDP. Agriculture is mainly in the form of subsistence farming. Due to large numbers of returning refugees, land sizes are shrinking, and this affects food production. Crops grown in the country include tea, coffee, sorghum, bananas, potatoes, and beans. Coffee and tea are exported.

Livestock farming, mostly traditional in nature, includes cows, goats, sheep, pigs, chicken, and rabbits, Shortages of land and water, insufficient and poor-quality feed, and regular disease outbreaks, which the veterinary services are ill-equipped to handle, are major constraints to growth.

Fishing takes place on the lakes, although stocks are rather depleted. Live fish are being imported to try to revive the fishing industry.

Rwanda’s mines have cassiterite, wolframite, sapphires, gold, and coltan.

Rwanda has made tremendous gains in their effort to provide electricity to the whole country, with a great number of new areas being electrified. The potential for hydroelectric power is great and Rwanda is working together with Burundi and the DRC to exploit this potential.

Rwanda’s industrial sector is mainly focused on domestic production and not on export. Rwanda produces beer, soft drinks, bottled water, cigarettes, farming implements, soap, furniture, shoes, cement, plastic goods, textiles, plastic pipes, and roofing materials

Tourism, the country’s leading foreign exchange earner since 2011 has been of the fastest growing sectors of the economy.

The unit of currency is the Rwanda Franc. The US dollars is widely accepted at tourist establishments, but for buying local goods, it is good to have the local currency. You will receive change from the locals only in the local currency.

Now that you know more about Rwanda as a travel destination, as well as the history of the country, perhaps you are ready book your next adventure with Q2 Travel?