Kigeli V of Rwanda

King Kigeli V Ndahindurwa (born 1935) was the ruling King (Mwami) of Rwanda from 1959 to 1961. He was born in Kamembe, Rwanda. His Christian name is Jean-Baptiste.

King Kigeli V portrait by portuguese plastic artist Carruço.

Education

He received his education at Groupe Scolaire d'Astrida in Rwanda, and at Nyangezi College in the modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Appointment as King

When King Mutara Rudahigwa became king of Rwanda he made many changes - in 1954 he distributed land to the Hutu and the Tutsi. He died under mysterious circumstances in 1959, and he was replaced on the throne by his younger brother Jean-Baptiste Ndahindurwa.

Political instability and tribal conflict grew despite the efforts of King Kigeli Ndahindurwa. An increasingly restive Hutu population, encouraged by the Belgian military, sparked a revolt in November 1959. In 1961, King Kigeli V was in Kinshasa to meet with Secretary-General of the United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld when Dominique Mbonyumutwa, with the support of the Belgian government, led a coup d'état that took control of the government. The coup resulted in the overthrow of King Kigeli V and he initially fled into exile to Tanzania, where he lived in Dar es Salaam (1961-1962). Then he moved to Nairobi, Kenya (1963-1971). He lived also in Kampala, Uganda (1972-1978) and in Nairobi (1979-1992) and since 1992 he has lived in Washington, D.C., United States.

Exile

In June 1992, he was granted political asylum by the United States and lives in Washington, D. C.. He has traveled internationally to speak on behalf of the Rwandan people and repeatedly called for peace and harmony between the different groups. King Kigeli V has continued to remember the victims of the Rwandan Genocide and makes every attempt to reconcile between all political, ethnic, and religious parties in Rwanda to use the democratic process to solve any disputes. Kigeli is a friend of former South African president Nelson Mandela.

King Kigeli V was invited by the Delta Phi Epsilon Alpha chapter at Georgetown University and gave a speech, "The Rwanda Genocide: The Most Preventable Tragedy of Our Time". ^[1]

Mark Watson, [1] a writer and broadcaster on royalty and genealogy, served as King Kigeli V's Secretary for many years. Between 2004-2007, Prof. Carl Edwin Lindgren, KHS, DEd [2] served as Secretary General and Senior Advisor. In April 2007, Lindgren resigned to assume a position as a government consultant. The current Secretary General is Marquis Alex Montague of Miami, Florida.

In an August 2007 BBC interview, Kigeli expressed an interest in returning to Rwanda if the Rwandan people are prepared to accept him as their constitutional monarch. He said that he had met President Paul Kagame and that Kagame had told him that he and his family were free to return, but Kigeli said that in order to do so, he needed to know if the people still wanted him to be king. According to Kigeli, Kagame said that he would consult the government about the issue.^[2]

Charity

He currently heads the King Kigeli V Foundation whose mission is to bring humanitarian initiatives on behalf of Rwandese refugees. King Kigeli V also awards the Royal Order of the Drum, the Royal Order of the Crown, the Royal Order of the Crested Crane and the Royal Order of the Intare [3] to individuals for their outstanding service to His Majesty for their personal work to assist the people of Rwanda through humantarian projects.

Awards and non-hereditary orders and titles

• King Kigeli V was awarded the Gold Star Award from by the International Strategic Studies Association for Outstanding Contributions to Strategic Progress Through Humanitarian Achievement for his work for Rwandan refugees in Africa.

Orders and decorations received by the King:

• Grand Cross, Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa (House of Braganza)
• Grand Cross, Order of Saint Michael of the Wing(House of Braganza)
• Grand Cross, Order of the Queen of Sheba (Imperial House of Ethiopia)
• Grand Cross, Imperial Order of the Star of Honour of the Ethiopian Empire
• Grand Cross, Imperial Order of Solomon of the Ethiopian Empire
• Grand Collar, Royal Order of Ismail (Royal House of Egypt)
• Grand Collar, Order of the Tunic of Our Lord Jesus (Royal House of Georgia)
• Grand Cross, Cross of São Tomé, Apostolo by Bishop Abilio Rodas De Souza (Catholic decoration, São Tomé)
• Grand Cross, Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem
• Knight, Most Prestigious Brotherhood of the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Noble City of Lisbon (Portugal)

Quotes

• "The genocide is a result of a loss of respect and culture," he said. "The young people do not respect or listen to their elders - If I am allowed to return, I will encourage intermarriage among the groups so that we can become one people again." ^[3]
• "My people did not choose to end the monarchy in Rwanda, that was imposed on them by the (Belgians)."
• "To really die for your country you become a hero"; King Kigeli said through his interpreter; "He was most impressed by the King dream for peace and human rights and that is my dream for Rwanda."^[3]
• "I’m for everyone. I want every one to be a child of God. I want both sides to have peace."

References

External links

• King Kigeli V offical website
• King Kigeli V's official facebook page
• Exiled king, U.N. leader to speak about Rwandan genocide
• THE "INGABO Z'UMWAMI" OR ARMY OF THE KING by Human Rights Watch
• Rwanda King Kigeli V speaks at CSUN
• King Kigeli visits Delta Phi Epsilon and gave a speech titled "The Rwanda Genocide The Most Preventable Tragedy of Our Time"
• ordenskreuz.com
• Heraldry of the Rwandan Royal House of Abanyiginya