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231-539: The Hutu Ten Commandments 1. Every Hutu should know that a Tutsi woman, whoever she is, works for the interest of her Tutsi ethnic group. As a result, we shall consider a traitor any Hutu who 2. Every Hutu should know that our Hutu daughters are more suitable and conscientious in their role as woman, wife, and mother of the family. Are they not beautiful, good secretaries and more honest? 3. Hutu women, be vigilant and try to bring your husbands, brothers, and sons back to reason. 4. Every Hutu should know that every Tutsi

462-546: A "Tap & Go" card and online bookings. Motorcycle taxis are a very popular form of private-hire vehicle, with 10,486 drivers registered with cooperatives or syndicates in 2012, a figure which is likely an underestimate. The government has announced plans to replace the country's fleet of petrol-powered motorcycles with electric vehicles, and online booking and metering has been rolled out for both motorcycles and taxicabs in recent years, such as Yego Cab and Move Ride by Volkswagen. Bicycle taxis operate in some areas of

693-692: A decoy to carry out small-scale attacks on the Rwandan Army, who remained unaware of the Front's relocation. The reorientation towards guerrilla warfare began with a raid on a Rwandan customs post across the border from Katuna . Following the attack, the Rwandan Government accused Uganda of deliberately sheltering the RPF. The RPF's new tactics inflicted heavy casualties on the Rwandan Army, which reacted by shelling Ugandan territory. Ugandan civilians were killed and

924-421: A guerrilla war , which continued until mid-1992 with neither side able to gain the upper hand. A series of protests forced Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana to begin peace negotiations with the RPF and domestic opposition parties. Despite disruption and killings by Hutu Power , a group of extremists opposed to any deal, and a fresh RPF offensive in early 1993, the negotiations were successfully concluded with

1155-513: A primate city , Kigali is a relatively new city. It has been Rwanda's economic, cultural, and transport hub since it was founded as an administrative outpost in 1907, and became the capital of the country at independence in 1962, shifting focus away from Huye . In an area controlled by the Kingdom of Rwanda from the 15th century, and then by the German Empire in the beginning of the 20th century,

1386-520: A "common front" against the RPF. This included members of his own party and the CDR and also factions from each of the other opposition parties in the power-sharing coalition. At the same time other members of the same parties issued a statement, in conjunction with the RPF, in which they condemned French involvement in the country and called for the Arusha process to be respected in full. The hardline factions within

1617-647: A UN-mandated mission to create safe humanitarian areas for displaced persons , refugees , and civilians in danger. From bases in the Zairian cities of Goma and Bukavu , the French entered south-western Rwanda and established the Turquoise zone, within the Cyangugu –Kibuye– Gikongoro triangle, an area occupying approximately a fifth of Rwanda. Radio France International estimates that Turquoise saved around 15,000 lives, but with

1848-895: A United Nations peacekeeping force; this was titled the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR), and was in place in Rwanda by October 1993 under the command of Canadian General Roméo Dallaire . Another stipulation of the agreement was that the RPF would station diplomats in Kigali at the Conseil national de développement (CND), now known as the Chamber of Deputies , Rwanda's Parliament building. These men were protected by 600–1,000 RPF soldiers, who arrived in Kigali through UNAMIR's Operation Clean Corridor in December 1993. Meanwhile,

2079-575: A cease-fire, but Kagame insisted each time that the RPF would not stop fighting unless the killings stopped. In late April the RPF secured the whole of the Tanzanian border area and began to move west from Kibungo, to the south of Kigali. They encountered little resistance except around Kigali and Ruhengeri. By 16 May they had cut the road between Kigali and Gitarama , the temporary home of the interim government, and by 13 June had taken Gitarama itself. The taking of Gitarama followed an unsuccessful attempt by

2310-404: A change that saw a plethora of new parties come into existence. Many had manifestos which favoured full democracy and rapprochement with the RPF, but these were quite ineffective and had no political influence. The older opposition groups registered themselves as official parties and the country was notionally moving towards a multi-party inclusive cabinet with proper representation, but progress

2541-429: A combination of limited concessions to the opposition and RPF than he could if Hutu Power were allowed to disrupt the peace process. The negotiation of troop numbers was protracted and difficult; twice the talks almost collapsed. The Rwandan Government wanted to allocate only 15% of the officer corps to the RPF, reflecting the proportion of Tutsi in the country, while the RPF was arguing for a 50/50 split. The RPF were in

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2772-569: A composite measure of life expectancy and health, education, and standard of living. This figure had risen or remained the same every year since 1992, except during the civil war, when the figure was 0.223. It is also the highest of Rwanda's five provinces with the next highest, the Northern Province, recording an HDI of 0.531. Analysts at the World Bank attribute the gains in HDI seen across Rwanda as

3003-482: A conquest of the area. The legend states that Rugwe viewed the territory from the top of a hill and said burya iki gihugu ni kigali , which translates to "this country is vast". The earliest inhabitants of what is now Rwanda were the Twa , a group of aboriginal pygmy hunter-gatherers who settled the area between 8000 and 3000 BC and remain in the country today. They were followed between 700 BC and AD 1500 by

3234-548: A coup . He founded the National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development (MRND) party in 1975, and promulgated a new constitution following a 1978 referendum , making the country a one-party state in which every citizen had to belong to the MRND. Anti-Tutsi discrimination continued under Habyarimana but the country enjoyed greater economic prosperity and reduced anti-Tutsi violence. A coffee price collapse in

3465-492: A cultural troupe affiliated with the city government. Drums are of great importance in traditional Rwandan music; the royal drummers enjoyed high status within the court of the mwami . Drummers play together in groups of varying sizes, usually between seven and nine in number. Traditional music and songs are performed in venues across the city by acts such as the Gakondo Group led by Massamba Intore . Rwanda and Kigali have

3696-526: A good reputation for the RPF amongst the local population. The RPF punished personnel who broke these rules, sometimes with beatings, while more serious offences such as murder, rape, and desertion, were punishable by death. The RPF carried out a major fundraising programme, spearheaded by Financial Commissioner Aloisia Inyumba in Kampala. They received donations from Tutsi exiles around the world, as well as from businessmen within Rwanda who had fallen out with

3927-543: A growing popular music industry, influenced by African Great Lakes, Congolese, and American music. The most popular genre is hip hop , with a blend of dancehall , rap , ragga , R&B and dance-pop . Since 2011, the Kigali Up music festival has been held annually in July or August. Artists from Rwanda and other countries perform music in a variety of styles including reggae and blues, with audiences of several thousands. Some of

4158-543: A high birth rate. Buildings that were heavily damaged during the fighting have been demolished, much of the city has been rebuilt, and modern office buildings and infrastructure now exist across the city. A masterplan, adopted by the city and the government in 2013 and supported by international finance and labour, seeks to establish Kigali as a decentralised modern city by 2040. The development has been accompanied by forced eviction of residents in informal housing zones, however, and groups such as Human Rights Watch have accused

4389-615: A large fraction of its people during the 1994 genocide, including those killed and those who fled to neighbouring countries. From 1995 the economy began to recover and large numbers of long-term Tutsi refugees returned from Uganda. Many of these refugees settled in Kigali and other urban areas, due to difficulty in obtaining land in other parts of the country. This phenomenon, coupled with a high birth rate and increased rural-to-urban migration, meant that Kigali reattained its previous size quite quickly and began to grow even more rapidly than before. The population exceeded 600,000 in 2002, and in

4620-437: A link to power. The delegates at the negotiations in Arusha made some progress in the latter half of 1992, despite wrangling between Habyarimana and hardline members of his party that compromised the government officials' negotiating power. In August the parties agreed to a "pluralistic transitional government", which would include the RPF. The CDR and hardline faction of the MRND reacted violently to this. Feeling sidelined by

4851-591: A major tactical advantage. By the end of October they had regained all the ground taken by the RPF and pushed the rebels all the way back to the Ugandan border. Many soldiers deserted; some crossed back into Uganda and others went into hiding in the Akagera National Park . Habyarimana accused the Ugandan Government of supplying the RPF, establishing a "rear command" for the group in Kampala, and "flagging off"

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5082-510: A middle ground compromise solution, but privately obstructing the process and trying to delay change to the status quo for as long as possible. Habyarimana recognised the danger posed to him by the radical Hutu faction and attempted in mid-1992 to remove them from senior army positions. This effort was only partially successful; akazu affiliates Augustin Ndindiliyimana and Théoneste Bagosora remained in influential posts, providing them with

5313-478: A move away from the more conciliatory tone adopted by Habyarimana and the moderate opposition. Their goal was to take over from Habyarimana's government as the perceived source of power in the country amongst the Hutu masses, to maintain the line that the RPF and Tutsi more generally were a threat to Hutu freedoms, and to find a way to thwart any agreement negotiated in Arusha. The situation deteriorated in early 1993 when

5544-655: A national average of $ 436 per capita. Another 2015 World Bank study measured the total turnover of registered companies in the country, as reported to the Rwanda Revenue Authority , and found that 92 per cent of these were from the city of Kigali. However, the authors noted that this figure excluded turnover from small-scale farming, and was also inflated for companies headquartered in Kigali with revenue generated elsewhere in Rwanda. Official statistics classify economic activity as either "farm" or "non-farm", and Kigali accounts for 39 per cent of non-farm waged employees in

5775-500: A number of Bantu groups, including the Hutu and Tutsi , who began clearing forests for agriculture. According to oral history, the Kingdom of Rwanda was founded in the 14th century on the shores of Lake Muhazi , around 40 kilometres (25 mi) east of modern Kigali. The early kingdom included Kigali but it was a small state at this point in its history with larger and more powerful neighbours, Bugesera and Gisaka . A member of

6006-509: A peace deal. Several radical youth militia groups emerged, attached to the Power wings of the parties; these included the Interahamwe , which was attached to the ruling party, and the CDR's Impuzamugambi . The youth militia began actively carrying out massacres across the country. The army trained the militias, sometimes in conjunction with the French, who were unaware the training they provided

6237-411: A permit, such gatherings in Rwanda are rare. The US political freedom research institute Freedom House states that fear of arrest serves as a deterrent for most such protests, and that the police often disperse protests even when they have official permission. Those gatherings which do take place are mostly peaceful and crime-free. OSAC's report assesses the city's terrorism risk as "minimal". Kigali

6468-462: A phenomenon which occurs across Rwanda, is attributed by the Ministry of Education and UNICEF to insufficient numeracy and English skills in primary-school finishers, cost, the need for children to contribute to household labour, and insufficient teaching resources. The city's three districts occupied the top positions in the national table of exam results at primary level in 2019, although this success

6699-417: A region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. It is situated between Mount Kigali and Mount Jali , both of which have elevations of more than 1,800 m (5,906 ft) above sea level , while the lowest areas of the city have an altitude of 1,300 m (4,265 ft). Geologically, Kigali is in a granitic and metasedimentary region, with lateritic soils on

6930-451: A reputation for being a relatively safe city. The Lonely Planet guidebook describes it as "a genuine contender for the safest capital in Africa", while Bert Archer of BBC Travel described it as "clean and safe". In a 2015 interview with The New Times , then-commander of the central division Rogers Rutikanga cited "efficient operations and daily surveillance" as the means by which the city

7161-464: A restructuring of local government in the country. The city has boundaries with the Northern , Eastern and Southern provinces . It is divided into three administrative districts — Nyarugenge in the south west, Kicukiro in the south east, and Gasabo , which occupies the northern half of the city's territory. The built-up urban area covers about 70 per cent of the municipal boundaries. Kigali lies in

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7392-463: A rural home. The population is young, with 73 per cent of residents being less than 30 years old, and 94 per cent under the age of 50. The city has a higher proportion of 14–35 year olds than the Rwanda average, with 50.3 per cent versus 39.6 per cent nationwide. Children between birth and seventeen (i.e. < 18) years of age have a below-average share of the total, with 39.6 per cent against 47.7 per cent nationally. These differences are attributed by

7623-489: A significant amount of damage to property was incurred, and there were reports of Rwandan troops crossing the border to loot and abduct locals. Conditions in the Virungas were very harsh for the RPF. At an altitude of almost 5,000 metres (16,000 ft), there was no ready availability of food or supplies and, lacking warm clothing, several soldiers froze to death or lost limbs in the high-altitude cold climate . Kagame spent

7854-514: A speedy independence on their terms but found that the Belgians no longer supported them. There was a simultaneous shift in the Catholic Church, with prominent conservative figures in the early Rwandan church replaced by younger clergy of working-class origin. Of these, a greater proportion were Flemish rather than Walloon Belgians and sympathised with the plight of the Hutu. In November 1959,

8085-415: A stew dish known as isombe . Brochettes are the most popular food when eating out in the evening, usually made from goat but sometimes tripe , beef or fish. The city has restaurants serving dishes from outside the country, including Chinese , French , Indian , and Italian . Popular drinks include ikivuguto , a fermented milk, and urwagwa banana beer . In colonial and pre-genocide Rwanda, Butare

8316-407: A superior position following their successful February campaign and were backed in their demands by Tanzania, which was chairing the talks. The government eventually agreed to their demands. As well as 50% of the officer corps, the RPF was allocated up to 40% of the non-command troops. The deal also mandated large-scale demobilisation; of the 35,000 Rwandan Army and 20,000 RPF soldiers at the time of

8547-482: A unit of young soldiers successfully crossed government-held territory to link up with them. They avoided attacking Kigali or Byumba at this stage but conducted manoeuvres designed to encircle the cities and cut off supply routes. The RPF also allowed Tutsi refugees from Uganda to settle behind the front line in the RPF controlled areas. In April there were numerous attempts by the United Nations forces to establish

8778-415: A whole to a "strong focus on homegrown policies and initiatives", which have accompanied economic growth. As with Rwanda as a whole, Christianity is the dominant religion in Kigali. In the 2012 census, 42.1 per cent of the city's inhabitants identified as Protestant with a further 9.1 per cent following Adventism , which was classified separately. Catholics formed 36.8 per cent of the population. Islam

9009-522: Is Amahoro Stadium , in the Remera area of the city, which was built in the 1980s and has a capacity of 30,000. The stadium is used primarily for association football , playing host to most Rwanda national football team home games as well as domestic fixtures. It was one of four stadia used for fixtures in the 2016 African Nations Championship including the final, in which the Democratic Republic of

9240-569: Is a restored marshland in Kigali that serves as a shelter for vulnerable grey crowned cranes . Kigali's central business district (CBD) , sometimes known in English by the Kinyarwanda term mu mujyi ("in town"), is on Nyarugenge Hill and was the site of the original city founded by Richard Kandt in 1907. The house that Kandt lived in is now the Kandt House Museum of Natural History. The CBD

9471-534: Is a traitor. Rwandan Civil War Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) victory The Rwandan Civil War was a large-scale civil war in Rwanda which was fought between the Rwandan Armed Forces , representing the country's government, and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) from 1   October 1990 to 18 July 1994. The war arose from the long-running dispute between the Hutu and Tutsi groups within

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9702-419: Is dishonest in business. His only aim is the supremacy of his ethnic group. As a result, any Hutu who does the following is a traitor: 5. All strategic positions, political, administrative, economic, military and security should be entrusted only to Hutu. 6. The education sector (school pupils, students, teachers) must be majority Hutu. 7. The Rwandan Armed Forces should be exclusively Hutu. The experience of

9933-469: Is divided into districts—Gasabo, Kicukiro, and Nyarugenge—which are in turn divided into 35 sectors. From January 2020, a new administrative system for Kigali was introduced, after a law was passed by the national parliament the previous year. Under the previous system, in effect since 2002, power was significantly devolved to the districts which were led by their own mayors, managing infrastructure and levying taxes, around 30 per cent of which were passed to

10164-505: Is limited. Kigali's cuisine is similar to that of the rest of the country . For those reliant on subsistence agriculture, local staple foods include bananas, plantains (known as ibitoke ), pulses , sweet potatoes , beans, and cassava (manioc). These staple foods are also served in restaurants across the city, often as part of a mélange , a self-service buffet meal which can also include meat, chips or fish. Cassava leaves are often combined with onions and other ingredients to make

10395-445: Is low, with just six per cent of households possessing one as of 2011. Therefore, most residents rely on public transport for journeys within the city and elsewhere. Historically, most passenger journeys within Kigali were in minibuses, operating under a share taxi system with sixteen passengers per bus. In the 2010s, these were phased out in many areas of the city, in favour of larger buses, some of which permit cashless payment through

10626-539: Is more prevalent in Kigali than elsewhere in Rwanda, with 5.7 per cent of people following the faith compared with 2.0 per cent nationwide. Jehovah's Witnesses form 1.2 per cent and other faiths 0.3 per cent, while those who profess no religion number 3.0 per cent. Kigali is the economic and financial hub of Rwanda, serving as the country's main port of entry and largest business centre. The NISR does not maintain detailed economic data for subnational entities in Rwanda, but economists have used various measures to estimate

10857-483: Is not found in much of the rest of the city. North of Nyamirambo, and west of the CBD is Nyabugogo . Situated at the lowest part of the city, in the valley of the eponymous Nyabugogo River, Nyabugogo is home to Kigali's principal bus and share taxi station, with vehicles departing for numerous domestic and international destinations. The remainder of Kigali's suburbs lie to the east of the CBD, with an urban sprawl spanning

11088-530: Is one of the five provinces of Rwanda , with boundaries set in 2006. It is divided into three districts— Gasabo , Kicukiro , and Nyarugenge —which historically had control of significant areas of local governance. Reforms in January 2020 transferred much of the districts' power to the city-wide council. The city also hosts the main residence and offices of the president of Rwanda and most government ministries. The largest contributor to Kigali's gross domestic product

11319-533: Is rarely violent. It cites pickpocketing and petty theft as the biggest concerns for foreigners within the city. Rwanda as a whole has lower crime rates than other countries in East Africa. In 2014–15, the number of intentional homicides per 100,000 people was 2.52 in the country, compared with 11.52 for Uganda, 6.95 for Tanzania, 4.79 for Kenya, and 4.52 for Burundi. Although the constitution allows freedom of assembly , with protests and demonstrations allowed with

11550-407: Is situated towards the western edge of the built-up area, as the terrain to the east was more suitable for development of the expanding city than the high slopes of Mount Kigali to the west. Several of Rwanda's tallest buildings, including the 20-storey Kigali City Tower , are located in the CBD, as are the headquarters of the country's largest banks and businesses. Other buildings in the CBD include

11781-625: Is that the first settlers were Hutu , and the Tutsi migrated later and formed a distinct racial group, possibly originating from the Horn of Africa . An alternative theory is that the migration was slow and steady, with incoming groups integrating into rather than conquering the existing society. Under this theory, the Hutu and Tutsi are a later class, rather than racial, distinction. The population coalesced, first into clans ( ubwoko ) and into around eight kingdoms by 1700. The Kingdom of Rwanda , ruled by

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12012-405: Is the service sector , but a significant proportion of the population works in agriculture including small-scale subsistence farming . Attracting international visitors is a priority for city authorities, including leisure tourism, conferences and exhibitions. The name Kigali comes from the Kinyarwanda prefix ki- combined with the adjective suffix -gali , which means wide or broad. This

12243-670: The 1980 general election . With Rwigyema and Kagame he formed a new rebel army, the National Resistance Army (NRA). The NRA's goal was to overthrow Obote's government, in what became known as the Ugandan Bush War . President Obote remained hostile to the Rwandan refugees throughout his presidency and RANU was forced into exile in 1981, relocating to Nairobi in Kenya. In 1982, with the authority of Obote, local district councils in

12474-699: The AfroBasket 2021 tournament, as well as handball, volleyball, and tennis. Other venues in the city include the 22,000-capacity Nyamirambo Regional Stadium and the Rwanda Cricket Stadium in Gahanga, which opened in 2017. Rwanda's only golf course, the Kigali Golf Club, is based in Nyarutarama; as of 2020 it is being expanded to eighteen holes and hopes to attract regional tournaments in future. Seven of

12705-674: The Ankole region issued notices requiring refugees to be evicted from their homes and settled in camps. These evictions were violently implemented by Ankole youth militia. Many displaced Rwandans attempted to cross the border to Rwanda, but the Habyarimana regime confined them to isolated camps and closed the border to prevent further migration. Faced with the threat of statelessness, many more Tutsi refugees in Uganda chose to join Museveni's NRA. In 1986,

12936-594: The Berlin Conference of 1884, forming part of German East Africa , and Germany established a presence in the country in 1897 with the formation of an alliance with the king, Yuhi V Musinga . Kandt arrived in 1899, to explore Lake Kivu and search for the source of the Nile . When Germany decided in 1907 to separate the administration of Rwanda from that of Burundi, Kandt was appointed as resident. He chose to make his headquarters in Kigali due to its central location in

13167-506: The Berlin Conference of 1884 , and Germany established a presence in 1897 with the formation of an alliance with the King. German policy was to rule through the Rwandan monarchy, enabling colonisation with fewer European troops. The colonists favoured the Tutsi over the Hutu when assigning administrative roles, believing them to be migrants from Ethiopia and racially superior. The Rwandan King welcomed

13398-695: The Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth in the United States, and was also planning overseas deployments for other senior Rwandans in the army. This may have been a tactic to reduce the threat of an RPF invasion of Rwanda. After two days of discussion Rwigyema persuaded Museveni that following years of army duty he needed a break and was allowed to remain in Uganda. Museveni then ordered Kagame to attend instead. The RPF leadership allowed him to go, to avoid suspicion, even though it meant his missing

13629-524: The Hutu Ten Commandments , a set of "rules" published in the Kangura magazine, mandating Hutu supremacy in all aspects of Rwandan life. In response the RPF opened its own propaganda radio station, Radio Muhabura , which broadcast from Uganda into Rwanda. This was never hugely popular but gained listenership during 1992 and 1993. The second development was that President Habyarimana announced that he

13860-636: The Kigali Convention Centre has attracted events to Kigali including the African Development Bank 's 2014 Annual General Assembly, and a 2018 extraordinary summit of the African Union . The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting was held in the city in June 2022, with attendees including Charles, Prince of Wales , and national leaders, having been postponed from June 2020 as a result of

14091-519: The Köppen climate classification , Kigali is in the tropical savanna climate ( Aw ) zone, with temperatures that are cooler than typical for equatorial countries because of its high elevation. The city has an average daily temperature range between 15 and 27 °C (59 and 81 °F), with little variation through the year. There are two rainy seasons annually, from February to June and from September to December. These are separated by two dry seasons :

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14322-459: The National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) to the migration of working-age Rwandans from rural to urban areas. Similarly, Kigali has a lower level of over-60s, with 2.6 per cent, than the Rwanda average of 4.9 per cent, also likely reflecting the tendency for non-working-age inhabitants to live rurally. In 2014, the proportion of people classified as living in poverty within Kigali

14553-692: The October 1990 war has taught us a lesson. No member of the military shall marry a Tutsi. 8. The Hutu should stop having mercy on the Tutsi. 9. The Hutu, wherever they are, must have unity and solidarity and be concerned with the fate of their Hutu brothers. 10. The Social Revolution of 1959 , the Referendum of 1961 , and the Hutu Ideology, must be taught to every Hutu at every level. Every Hutu must spread this ideology widely. Any Hutu who persecutes his brother Hutu for having read, spread, and taught this ideology

14784-607: The Rwandan franc , had left the government struggling to pay its soldiers regularly. The armed forces had also expanded rapidly, at one point growing from less than 10,000 troops to almost 30,000 in one-year. The new recruits were often poorly disciplined and not battle ready, with a tendency to get drunk and carry out abuse and rapes of civilians. The RPF advance continued unchecked in February, its forces moving steadily south and gaining territory without opposition. They took Ruhengeri on

15015-459: The Twa , aboriginal pygmy hunter-gatherers who settled in the area between 8000 BC and 3000 BC and remain in Rwanda today. Between 700 BC and 1500 AD, Bantu groups migrated into the region and began to clear forest land for agriculture. The forest-dwelling Twa lost much of their land and moved to the slopes of mountains. Historians have several theories regarding the Bantu migrations. One theory

15246-410: The akazu , who ordered him to kill every inmate in the prison to avoid escape and defections during the fighting. He also wanted to prevent high-profile political prisoners and former insiders from sharing secret information with the RPF. Uwihoreye refused to obey, even after Sagatwa called him and repeated the order, having confirmed it with the president. Eventually, the RPF stormed the buildings and

15477-407: The inyenzi (cockroaches). Historians do not know the origin of this term – it is possible the rebels coined it themselves, the name reflecting that they generally attacked at night. The inyenzi label resurfaced in the 1990s as a highly derogatory term for the Tutsi, used by Hutu hardliners to dehumanise them. The inyenzi attacks of the 1960s were poorly equipped and organised and

15708-444: The 2012 census had almost doubled to 1.13 million, although this was in part because the administrative boundaries of the city had been expanded. As of the 2012 census, 51.7 per cent of residents were male. The Rwanda Environment Management Authority hypothesised that the high male-to-female ratio was due to a tendency for men to migrate to the city in search of work outside the agricultural sector, while their wives remained in

15939-462: The 21st century, including the public School of Finance and Banking (SFB) in Gikondo and the private University of Kigali , as well as branches of foreign universities such as Mount Kenya University and Carnegie Mellon University 's college of engineering. As of 2018, there were a total of 50,594 students enrolled at tertiary institutions in Kigali, with a total of 28 separate campuses. In 2013,

16170-739: The CBD such as the Kigali City Tower. Attracting international visitors is a priority for both the city and the Rwanda Development Board , including leisure tourism, conferences and exhibitions. Kigali is the major arrival point for tourists visiting Rwanda's national parks and tracking mountain gorillas , and has its own sites of interest such as the Kigali Genocide Memorial and ecotourist facilities, as well as bars, coffee shops and restaurants. Expansion of destinations by carrier RwandAir and building of new facilities such as

16401-487: The COVID-19 pandemic . The city's largest employment sector is agriculture, fishing and forestry, representing 24 per cent of the workforce. Farmland comprised over 60 per cent of the land within the city's boundaries in 2012, mostly in the outer areas surrounding the urban core. As is the case nationwide, much of the agriculture in Kigali is subsistence farming on small plots, but there are some larger modern farms close to

16632-484: The Congo beat Mali . The stadium also hosts rugby union fixtures, including those of the national team , as well as concerts and public events. The Amahoro complex includes an indoor venue, commonly known by the French name Petit stade , and a Paralympic playing hall. The Kigali Arena is a 10,000-capacity indoor arena next to Amahoro Stadium, which opened in 2019. The arena hosts sports such as basketball, including

16863-418: The February offensive. Kagame responded that he would agree to this only if the Rwandan army were forbidden from re-entering the newly conquered territory. Following a threat by Kagame to resume fighting and potentially take even more territory, the two sides reached a compromise deal. This entailed the RPF withdrawing to its pre-February territory, but also mandated the setting up of a demilitarised zone between

17094-408: The French the regime was in imminent danger. As a result, 600 French soldiers arrived in Rwanda the following day, twice as many as initially pledged. The French operation was code-named Noroît and its official purpose was to protect French nationals. In reality the mission was to support Habyarimana's regime and the French parachute companies immediately set up positions blocking the RPF advance to

17325-420: The French, the Zairian troops went straight to the front line and began fighting the RPF, but their discipline was poor. The Zairian soldiers raped Rwandan civilians in the north of the country and looted their homes, prompting Habyarimana to expel them back to Zaire within a week of their arrival. With French assistance, and benefiting from the loss of RPF morale after Rwigyema's death, the Rwandan Army enjoyed

17556-528: The Germans, and used their military strength to reinforce his rule and expand the kingdom. Belgian forces took control of Rwanda and Burundi during World War I, and from 1926 began a policy of more direct colonial rule. The Belgian administration, in conjunction with Catholic clerics, modernised the local economy. They also increased taxes and imposed forced labour on the population. Tutsi supremacy remained, reinforced by Belgian support of two monarchies, leaving

17787-497: The Gisaka dynasty killed Rwanda's king Ruganzu I Bwimba in the 16th century, but Ruganzu's son Cyilima I Rugwe fought back with help from Bugesera and was able to expand Rwanda's territory. In the late 16th or early 17th century, the kingdom of Rwanda was invaded from the north by the Banyoro of modern-day Uganda . The king was forced to flee westward, leaving Kigali and eastern Rwanda in

18018-952: The Green Hills Academy, École Belge , and the International School of Kigali . These schools, which charge high fees, offer international programmes such as the International General Certificate of Secondary Education and the International Baccalaureate which enable students to study at universities worldwide. On 14 September 2022, the government announced that, starting with the academic year 2022–2023, parents will no longer pay school fees for students in pre-primary and primary, however, they will contribute Rwf975 for school feeding program. This will help parents with limited means be able to send their children at school. The largest sports venue in Kigali

18249-517: The Hutu Power wings of the various parties were beginning plans for a genocide . The President of Burundi, Melchior Ndadaye , who had been elected in June as the country's first ever Hutu president, was assassinated by extremist Tutsi army officers in October 1993. The assassination reinforced the notion among Hutus that the Tutsi were their enemy and could not be trusted. The CDR and the Power wings of

18480-486: The Hutu began a series of riots and arson attacks on Tutsi homes, following false rumours of the death of a Hutu sub-chief in an assault by Tutsi activists. Violence quickly spread across the whole country, beginning the Rwandan Revolution . The King and Tutsi politicians launched a counter-attack in an attempt to seize power and ostracise the Hutu and Belgians, but were thwarted by Belgian Colonel Guy Logiest , who

18711-434: The Hutu disenfranchised. In 1935, Belgium introduced identity cards classifying each individual as Tutsi, Hutu, Twa, or Naturalised. It had previously been possible for wealthy Hutu to become honorary Tutsi, but the identity cards prevented further movement between the groups. After 1945, a Hutu counter-elite developed, demanding the transfer of power from Tutsi to Hutu. The Tutsi leadership responded by trying to negotiate

18942-407: The Hutu purges, mostly to the neighbouring countries of Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania and Zaire. Many of the Tutsi exiles lived as refugees in their host countries, and sought to return to Rwanda. Some supported the new Rwandan Government, but others formed armed groups and launched attacks on Rwanda, the largest of which advanced close to Kigali in 1963. These groups were known in Kinyarwanda as

19173-464: The Kibilira commune of Gisenyi Province , killing 383 Tutsi. The burgomaster and the sous-préfet were dismissed from their posts and jailed, but released soon thereafter. It was the first time in nearly twenty years that massacres against Tutsi were perpetrated, as anti-Tutsi violence under the Habyarimana regime had been only low level up to that point. Paul Kagame was still in the United States at

19404-528: The NRA captured Kampala with a force of 14,000 soldiers, including 500 Rwandans, and formed a new government. After Museveni was inaugurated as president he appointed Kagame and Rwigyema as senior officers in the new Ugandan army. The experience of the Bush War inspired Rwigyema and Kagame to consider an attack against Rwanda, with the goal of allowing the refugees to return home. As well as fulfilling their army duties,

19635-533: The Northern Brigade led by Colonel Philippe Molitor on 6 May 1916. The Belgians were granted sovereignty by a League of Nations mandate in 1922, forming the mandatory territory of Ruanda-Urundi . In early 1917, Belgium attempted to assert direct rule on the mandate, placing King Musinga under arrest and sidelining Rwandans in the judiciary. In this period, Kigali was one of two provincial capitals, alongside Gisenyi . An agricultural-labour shortage caused by

19866-466: The Nyabarongo. The Nyabugogo is fed by various smaller streams throughout the city, and its drainage basin contains most of Kigali's territory, other than areas in the south which outflow directly to the Nyabarongo. The rivers are flanked by wetlands , which act as a water store and flood protection for the city, although these are under threat from agriculture and development. The " Umusambi Village "

20097-468: The RNP's professionalism, but notes that it lacks specialist skills in dealing with policing tasks such as investigation, counter-terrorism, bomb disposal, and forensics. OSAC also notes that the RNP has limited resources on the ground, stating that police are often "unable to respond to an emergency call in a timely manner", and that police patrols are more focused on terrorism than crime. Despite this, Kigali has

20328-485: The RPF all accepted it, but the CDR and hardline MRND officers were violently opposed. MRND national secretary Mathieu Ngirumpatse announced that the party would not respect the agreement, contradicting the president and the party's negotiators in Arusha. The MRND hardliners organised demonstrations across the country and mobilised their supporters within the army and populace to begin a much larger killing spree than those that had previously occurred. The violence engulfed

20559-405: The RPF area and the rest of the country. The deal was significant because it marked a formal concession by Habyarimana's regime of the northern zone to the rebels, recognising the RPF hold on that territory. There were many within the RPF senior command who felt Kagame had ceded too much, because the deal meant not only withdrawal to the pre-February boundaries, but also a promise not to encroach on

20790-451: The RPF benefited from the element of surprise. The Ugandan government set up roadblocks across the west of Uganda, to prevent further desertions and to block the rebels from returning to Uganda. On 2 October the RPF leader Fred Rwigyema was shot in the head and killed. The exact circumstances of Rwigyema's death are disputed; the official line of Kagame's government, and the version mentioned by historian Gérard Prunier in his 1995 book on

21021-476: The RPF captured the last territory held by the interim government, forcing the government and genocidaires into Zaire . The victorious RPF assumed control of the country, with Paul Kagame as de facto leader. Kagame served as vice president from 1994 and as president from 2000. The RPF began a programme of rebuilding the infrastructure and economy of the country, bringing genocide perpetrators to trial, and promoting reconciliation between Hutu and Tutsi. In 1996

21252-531: The RPF fled to government-held areas, creating a large population of internally displaced persons in the country. The renewed warfare had two effects in Rwanda. The first was a resurgence of violence against Tutsi still in the country. Hutu activists killed up to 1,000 Tutsi in attacks authorised by local officials, starting with the slaughter  [ fr ] of 30–60 Bagogwe Tutsi pastoralists near Kinigi and then moving south and west to Ruhengeri and Gisenyi. These attacks continued until June 1991, when

21483-410: The RPF fought tactically, and were able to exploit the fact that the government forces were concentrating on the genocide rather than the fight for Kigali. The RPF took control of Kigali on 4 July, a date now commemorated as Liberation Day , a Rwandan national holiday . Since the war and genocide, the city has experienced rapid population growth as a result of migration from other areas, as well as

21714-455: The RPF had been ejected from the country and had been reduced to conducting guerrilla operations from Uganda. The government sent troops to the city the following day and a state of emergency was declared, with strict curfews in Ruhengeri and the surrounding area. The RPF raided the city almost every night for several months, fighting with Rwandan army forces, and the country was back at war for

21945-432: The RPF offensive broke, Habyarimana requested assistance from France in fighting the invasion. The French president's son, Jean-Christophe Mitterrand , was head of the government's Africa Cell and promised to send troops. On the night of 4   October, gunfire was heard in Kigali in a mysterious attack, which was attributed to RPF commandos. The attack was most likely staged by the Rwandan authorities, seeking to convince

22176-441: The RPF prompted Fred Rwigyema to intervene in the organisation and take control, replacing Peter Bayingana as RPF president. Kagame and other senior members of Rwigyema's Rwandan entourage within the NRA also joined, Kagame assuming the vice presidency. Bayingana remained as the other vice president but resented the loss of the leadership. Bayingana and his supporters attempted to start the war with an invasion in late 1989 without

22407-465: The RPF was ready to fight again. The target for the first attack was the northern city of Ruhengeri , south of the Virunga mountains. The city was the only provincial capital that could be attacked quickly from the Virungas while maintaining an element of surprise. Kagame also favoured an attack on Ruhengeri for cultural reasons. President Habyarimana, as well as his wife and her powerful family, came from

22638-404: The RPF, and negotiated a ceasefire. In July 1992 the rebels agreed to stop fighting, and the parties began peace negotiations in the Tanzanian city of Arusha . The peace process was complicated by the fact that four distinct groups were involved, each with its own agenda. The Hutu hardliners, centred around the family of Agathe Habyarimana, were represented by the CDR as well as extremists within

22869-585: The RPF-led Rwandan Government launched an offensive against refugee camps in Zaire, home to exiled leaders of the former regime and millions of Hutu refugees. This action started the First Congo War , which removed long-time dictator President Mobutu Sese Seko from power. As of 2024 , Kagame and the RPF remain the dominant political force in Rwanda. The earliest inhabitants of what is now Rwanda were

23100-514: The Rwandan Army forces to reopen the road. The interim government was forced to relocate to Gisenyi in the far north-west. As well as fighting the war Kagame recruited heavily at this time to expand the RPF. The new recruits included Tutsi survivors of the genocide and Rwandan Tutsi refugees who had been living in Burundi, but they were less well trained and disciplined than the earlier recruits. In late June 1994, France launched Opération Turquoise ,

23331-513: The Rwandan population. A 1959–1962 revolution had replaced the Tutsi monarchy with a Hutu-led republic, forcing more than 336,000 Tutsi to seek refuge in neighbouring countries. A group of these refugees in Uganda founded the RPF which, under the leadership of Fred Rwigyema and Paul Kagame , became a battle-ready army by the late 1980s. The war began on 1 October 1990, when the RPF invaded north-eastern Rwanda, advancing 60 km (37 mi) into

23562-473: The Rwandans of collaboration with his predecessor, Idi Amin , including occupying the homes and stealing the cattle of Ugandans who had fled from Amin. Meanwhile, Tutsi refugees Fred Rwigyema and Paul Kagame had joined Yoweri Museveni 's rebel Front for National Salvation (FRONASA). Museveni fought alongside Obote to defeat Amin in 1979 but withdrew from the government following Obote's disputed victory in

23793-729: The Tutsi Nyiginya clan, became dominant from the mid-eighteenth century, expanding through conquest and assimilation. It achieved its greatest extent under the reign of Kigeli Rwabugiri in 1853–1895. Rwabugiri expanded the kingdom west and north, and initiated administrative reforms which caused a rift to grow between the Hutu and Tutsi populations. These included uburetwa , a system of forced labour which Hutu had to perform to regain access to land seized from them, and ubuhake , under which Tutsi patrons ceded cattle to Hutu or Tutsi clients in exchange for economic and personal service. Rwanda and neighbouring Burundi were assigned to Germany by

24024-563: The Tutsi people of Rwanda and would not have been good for Uganda's stability". Journalist Justus Muhanguzi Kampe reported that the taking of military equipment by deserted Tutsi members of the Ugandan Army meant the national arsenal "nearly got depleted"; he suspected the war "must have had a tremendous financial impact on the Ugandan government, especially Uganda's military budget", costing the country "trillions of shillings". After three months of regrouping, Kagame decided in January 1991 that

24255-714: The Ugandan Army's 4,000 Rwandan soldiers took part in the invasion, accompanied by 800 civilians, including medical staff and messengers. Both President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and President Habyarimana of Rwanda were in New York City attending the United Nations World Summit for Children . In the first few days of fighting, the RPF advanced 60 km (37 mi) south to Gabiro. Their Rwandan Armed Forces opponents, fighting for Habyarimana's government, were numerically superior, with 5,200 soldiers, and possessed armoured cars and helicopters supplied by France, but

24486-464: The Ugandan Army, and they welcomed his arrival in the field. He spent the following weeks gathering intelligence with senior officers. By the end of October, with the RPF forced back to the Ugandan border, Kagame decided it was futile to continue fighting. He therefore withdrew most of the army from north-eastern Rwanda, moving them to the Virunga mountains , along the northwestern border. Kagame knew that

24717-480: The Ugandan Army; according to Gérard Prunier, Ugandans who had fought with Kagame in the Bush War remained loyal to him and secretly passed weaponry to the RPF. Museveni likely knew of this but was able to claim ignorance when dealing with the international community. Museveni later said that "faced with [a] fait accompli situation by our Rwandan brothers", Uganda went "to help the RPF, materially, so that they are not defeated because that would have been detrimental to

24948-459: The accords, only 19,000 would be drafted into the new national army. With all details agreed the Arusha Accords were finally signed on 4   August 1993 at a formal ceremony attended by President Habyarimana as well as heads of state from neighbouring countries. An uneasy peace was once again entered into, which would last until 7   April of the following year. The agreement called for

25179-543: The area. They attacked on the morning of 23 January. The Rwandan forces were taken by surprise and were mostly unable to defend against the invasion. The Rwandan Police and army succeeded in briefly repelling the invasion in areas around their stations, killing large numbers of rebel fighters in the process. It is likely the Rwandan Army forces were assisted by French troops, as the French Government later rewarded around fifteen French paratroopers for having taken part in

25410-547: The authority of only Habyarimana's National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development party. Another one-party cabinet was announced in January 1992 which prompted large scale protests in Kigali, forcing Habyarimana to make real concessions. He announced his intention to negotiate with the RPF, and formed a multi-party cabinet in April. This was still dominated by Habyarimana's party, but with opposition figures in some key positions. The opposition members of this cabinet met with

25641-616: The beginning of the war. On 1 October 1990 fifty RPF rebels deserted their Ugandan Army posts and crossed the border from Uganda into Rwanda, killing a Rwandan customs guard at the Kagitumba border post and forcing others to flee. They were followed by hundreds more rebels, dressed in the uniforms of the Ugandan national army and carrying stolen Ugandan weaponry, including machine guns , autocannons , mortars , and Soviet BM-21 multiple rocket launchers . According to RPF estimates, around 2,500 of

25872-407: The border and he crossed into Rwanda early on 15 October. The RPF were in disarray by the time Kagame arrived, with troop morale very low. He later described his arrival as one of the worst experiences of his life; the troops lacked organisation following Rwigyema's death and were demoralised after their losses in the war. Kagame was well known to the RPF troops, many of whom had fought with him in

26103-440: The capital and Kigali International Airport . Belgium and Zaire also sent troops to Kigali in early October. The Belgian troops were deployed primarily to defend the country's citizens living in Rwanda but after a few days it became clear they were not in danger. Instead, the deployment created a political controversy as news reached Brussels of arbitrary arrests and massacres by the Habyarimana regime and its failure to deal with

26334-411: The capital and elsewhere, giving it the nickname "Hillywood", a portmanteau word combining Rwanda's nickname "land of a thousand hills" with Hollywood . The term is also used for Rwanda's film industry in general. On Genocide Memorial Day, a national holiday observed every year on 7 April, the Kigali Genocide Memorial hosts Kwibuka , during which the president lights a "flame of hope" and addresses

26565-406: The capital is unknown. Kagame later said his aim at this point was to inflict as much damage as possible on Rwandan Army forces, capture their weapons, and gain ground slowly, but not to attack the capital or seek to end the war with an outright RPF victory. Kagame told journalist and author Stephen Kinzer such a victory would have ended international goodwill towards the RPF and led to charges that

26796-436: The change in official status, and the possibility that they might lose access to the resources of the Ugandan military, caused them to accelerate their plans to invade Rwanda. In 1990 a dispute in south-western Uganda between Ugandan ranch owners and squatters on their land, many of whom were Rwandans, led to a wider debate on indigeneity and eventually to the explicit labeling of all Rwandan refugees as non-citizens. Realising

27027-555: The city did not become a major centre of learning until the second half of the 1990s. At that time, the public Kigali Health Institute (KHI), Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), and Kigali Institute of Education (KIE) were founded, along with private universities the Kigali Independent University (ULK) and the University of Lay Adventists of Kigali (UNILAK). Further institutions were added in Kigali in

27258-413: The city then became the setting for fierce fighting between the army and the RPF including at the latter's base. The RPF began attacking from the north of the country, and gradually took control of most of Rwanda between April and June. After encircling Kigali and cutting off its supply routes, they began fighting for the city itself in mid-June. The government forces had superior manpower and weapons but

27489-430: The city there was a total of 1,017 kilometres (632 mi) of road in 2012, although only fourteen per cent of this was paved road and many of the unpaved sections were of poor quality and dangerous during rainfall. The authorities have been making gradual improvements since the 1990s, increasing the quality of the surfaces and also upgrading most of the city's arterial routes to dual-carriageway. Car ownership in Kigali

27720-618: The city to be settled, being built in the 1920s by the Belgian colonial government as a home for civil servants and Swahili traders. The latter group were mostly members of the Islamic faith, which led to Nyamirambo being known as the "Muslim Quarter". Nyamirambo's Green Mosque ( Masjid al-Fatah ) is the oldest mosque in Kigali, dating to the 1930s. Travel publisher Rough Guides described Nyamirambo in 2015 as "Kigali's coolest neighbourhood", citing its multi-cultural status and an active nightlife, which

27951-551: The city to most other major cities and towns in the country. It is also connected by road to other countries in the East African Community , namely Uganda, Tanzania , Burundi and Kenya , as well as to the eastern Congolese cities of Goma and Bukavu ; the most important trade route for imports and exports is the road to the port of Mombasa via Kampala and Nairobi, which is known as the Northern Corridor . Within

28182-476: The city was founded in 1907 when Richard Kandt , the colonial resident , chose the site for his headquarters, citing its central location, views and security. Foreign merchants began to trade in the city during the German era, and Kandt opened some government-run schools for Tutsi Rwandan students. Belgium took control of Rwanda and Burundi during World War I, forming the mandate of Ruanda-Urundi . Kigali remained

28413-417: The city's jurisdiction has been expanded several times since Rwandan independence, the current boundaries being established through a 2005 law as part of local-government restructuring. The law gave the city government responsibility for strategic planning and urban development, as well as liaising with the three constituent districts and monitoring the districts' development plans. Like other provinces, Kigali

28644-494: The city's output. A 2015 working paper by the World Bank Policy Research unit used the amount of light visible at night in different regions as a proxy for relative gross domestic product (GDP), and found that the three districts of Kigali represented 42 per cent of Rwanda's total night-light output. When translated, this gives a total city GDP of approximately US$ 1.8 billion or $ 1,619 per capita, compared with

28875-475: The city, particularly in Gasabo district, which has the highest average area of cultivated land per household in the country. Other major employment areas in the city are government, which comprises 12 per cent of the workforce, transportation and communication, construction, and manufacturing. The NISR classifies 21 per cent of the workforce as being employed in "other services" such as utilities and financial services,

29106-408: The city-wide authority. The changes, implemented with the goal of reducing bureaucracy and inefficiency, gave the city council much greater power including control of the budget. The districts ceased to be separate legal entities, their mayors being replaced by district executive administrators appointed by the national government. The city council is composed of eleven individuals, down from 33 in

29337-450: The civil war later became a subject of much study and dispute, and generated an unprecedent debate about French foreign policy in Africa. Having completed the encirclement of Kigali, the RPF spent the latter half of June fighting for the capital. The Rwandan Army forces had superior manpower and weapons, but the RPF steadily gained territory and conducted raids to rescue civilians from behind enemy lines. According to Dallaire, this success

29568-484: The colonial era, as much of the administration took place in Ruanda-Urundi's capital Usumbura , now known as Bujumbura in Burundi. Usumbura's population exceeded 50,000 during the 1950s and was the mandate's only European-style city, while Kigali's population remained at around 6,000 until independence in 1962. Kigali became the capital upon Rwandan independence in 1962. Two other cities were considered: Nyanza, as

29799-688: The consolidated University of Rwanda . It has six constituent colleges, spanning nine campuses, three of which are in Kigali. These are the Gikondo campus, which serves as the university's headquarters and is home to its business and economics programmes, the Nyarugenge campus on the former KIST site, which houses the sciences, architecture and engineering, and the Remera campus which covers medicine, nursing, dentistry and health sciences. In 2018 Kigali had 239 primary schools with 203,680 pupils enrolled, and 143 secondary schools with an enrolment of 60,997. The large rate of drop-out between primary and secondary,

30030-617: The country was in crisis. The organisation which became the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) was founded in 1979 in Uganda. It was initially known as the Rwandan Refugees Welfare Association and then from 1980 as the Rwandan Alliance for National Unity (RANU). It formed in response to persecution and discrimination against the Tutsi refugees by the regime of Ugandan President Milton Obote . Obote accused

30261-479: The country, and also because the site on Nyarugenge Hill afforded good views and security. Kandt's house, located close to the central business district (CBD), was the first European-style house in the city, and remains in use today as the Kandt House Museum of Natural History . Despite a German ordinance written in 1905, which prohibited "non-indigenous natives" from entering Rwanda, Kandt began permitting

30492-647: The country. In 2013, the economy was reported to be dependent on foreign aid and illegal resource extraction from the DRC. The largest contributor to Kigali's economy is the service sector . The World Bank estimates that services contributed 53 per cent of GDP in 2014, while a 2012 study by Surbana International Consultants put the figure at almost 62 per cent. Activity within the service sector includes retail, information technology, transport and hotels, and real estate. The city authorities have prioritised business services for expansion, constructing several modern buildings in

30723-476: The country. They suffered a major setback when Rwigyema was killed in action on the second day. The Rwandan Army, assisted by troops from France, gained the upper hand and the RPF were largely defeated by the end of October. Kagame, who had been in the United States during the invasion, returned to take command. He withdrew troops to the Virunga Mountains for several months before attacking again. The RPF began

30954-495: The deaths of its ten soldiers protecting Prime Minister Uwilingiliyimana. In mid-May the UN conceded that "acts of genocide may have been committed", and agreed to reinforcement. The new soldiers started arriving in June, and following the end of the genocide in July they stayed to maintain security and stability, until the termination of their mission in 1996. Fifteen UN soldiers were killed in Rwanda between April and July 1994, including

31185-423: The demilitarised zone. This therefore ended RPF ambitions of capturing more territory. Kagame used the authority he had accumulated through his successful leadership of the RPF to override these concerns, and the parties returned once more to the negotiating table in Arusha. Despite the agreement and ongoing negotiations President Habyarimana, supported by the French Government, spent the subsequent months forging

31416-482: The democratic Rwandan opposition parties. When it became clear that the Rwandan Army was losing ground to the RPF, Habyarimana requested urgent assistance from France. Fearing that the RPF could soon be in a position to seize Kigali, the French immediately dispatched 150 troops to Rwanda, along with arms and ammunition, to bolster the Rwandan Army forces. A further 250 French soldiers were sent on 20 February. The arrival of French troops in Kigali significantly changed

31647-465: The developing Arusha process, they began killing Tutsi civilians in the Kibuye area; 85 were killed, and 500 homes burnt. Historian Gérard Prunier names late 1992 as the time when the idea of a genocidal "final solution" to kill every Tutsi in Rwanda was first mooted. Hardliners were busy setting up parallel institutions within the official organs of state, including the army, from which they hoped to effect

31878-413: The diplomatic and psychological effect of the RPF's resurgence was not lost. Kagame employed tactics such as attacking simultaneously in up to ten locations across the north of the country, to prevent his opponents from concentrating their force in any one place. This low intensity war continued for many months, both sides launching successful attacks on the other, and neither able to gain the upper hand in

32109-484: The early days of the genocide, severely limiting its ability to operate. Its most significant contribution was to provide refuge for thousands of Tutsi and moderate Hutu at its headquarters in Amahoro Stadium , as well as other secure UN sites, and to assist with the evacuation of foreign nationals. The Belgian Government, which had been one of the largest troop contributors to UNAMIR, pulled out in mid-April following

32340-427: The electorate voting for delegates at the sub-sector village level, who go on to elect other delegates through each level of the administrative hierarchy. The mayor and two deputy mayors form the executive committee, which reports to the council and implements its decisions. As of 2023 the incumbent mayor is Samuel Dusengiyumva . Notable past mayors include Francois Karera , who held the post from 1975 to 1990 under

32571-422: The end of the February war more than a million civilians, mostly Hutu, had left their homes in the country's largest exodus to date. The RPF cease-fire was followed by two days of negotiations in the Ugandan capital Kampala , attended by RPF leader Paul Kagame, and involving President Museveni and representatives of European nations. The Europeans insisted that RPF forces withdraw to the zone they had held before

32802-549: The entry of foreign traders in 1908, which allowed commercial activity to begin in Rwanda. Kigali's first businesses were established by Greek and Indian merchants, with assistance from Baganda and Swahili people . Items traded included cloth and beads. Commercial activity was limited and there were only around 30 firms in the city by 1914. Kandt also opened government-run schools in Kigali, which began educating Tutsi students. Belgian forces took control of Rwanda and Burundi during World War I , with Kigali being captured by

33033-414: The fighting. Kagame refused to talk to the interim government, believing it was just a cover for Bagosora's rule and not committed to ending the genocide. Over the next few days the RPF moved steadily south through the eastern part of the country, capturing Gabiro and large areas of the countryside to the north and east of Kigali. Their unit stationed in Kigali was isolated from the rest of their forces but

33264-561: The films featured survivors as cast members. Kigali also has a growing domestic film industry which began in the early 2000s with the Rwanda Film Centre, founded by journalist Eric Kabera . One of the centre's goals was to diversify the subjects covered by Rwandan films beyond the genocide theme, presenting other aspects of the country. In 2005, Kabera inaugurated the Rwanda Film Festival which takes place annually at venues in

33495-433: The first day of fighting, and later the city of Byumba . Local Hutu civilians fled en masse from the areas the RPF were taking, most of them ending up in refugee camps on the outskirts of Kigali. The civilian cost of the offensive is unclear; according to André Guichaoua several thousand were killed, while Prunier labelled the RPF killing as "small-scale". This violence alienated the rebels from their potential allies in

33726-438: The first time since the October invasion. Following the action in Ruhengeri the RPF again began to wage guerrilla war. The Rwandan Army massed troops across the north of the country, occupying key positions and shelling RPF hideouts in the Virunga mountains, but the mountainous terrain prevented them from launching an all-out assault. Paul Kagame's troops attacked the Rwandan Army forces repeatedly and frequently, keen to ensure

33957-569: The genocide as well as the civil war. At the end of July 1994 Kagame's forces held the whole of Rwanda except for the Turquoise zone in the south-west. The date of the fall of Kigali, 4   July, was later designated Liberation Day by the RPF and is commemorated as a public holiday in Rwanda . The UN peacekeeping force, UNAMIR, was in Rwanda during the genocide, but its Chapter VI mandate rendered it powerless to intervene militarily. Efforts by General Dallaire to broker peace were unsuccessful, and most of UNAMIR's Rwandan staff were killed in

34188-459: The genocide coming to an end and the RPF's ascendancy, many Rwandans interpreted Turquoise as a mission to protect the Hutus from the RPF, including some who had participated in the genocide. The French remained hostile to the RPF and their presence held up the RPF's advance in the south-west of the country. Opération Turquoise remained in Rwanda until 21 August 1994. French activity in Rwanda during

34419-479: The government defeated them. The last significant attack was made in desperation from Burundi in December 1963 but failed due to bad planning and lack of equipment. The government responded to this attack with the slaughter of an estimated 10,000 Tutsi within Rwanda. Kayibanda presided over a Hutu republic for the next decade, imposing an autocratic rule similar to the pre-revolution feudal monarchy. In 1973 Hutu army officer Juvénal Habyarimana toppled Kayibanda in

34650-538: The government implemented significant changes in the country's public university system, intended to improve efficiency by removing duplicated courses of study and eliminating discrepancies in student assessment between the different schools. The previously independent Kigali institutions KHI, KIST, KIE and SFB were merged with three others from outside the city—the UNR, Nyagatare-based Umutara Polytechnic and Ruhengeri's Higher Institute of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry —creating

34881-471: The government in 2008 with residents compensated or relocated to other areas, including to a purpose-built estate in the Batsinda neighbourhood. The government has plans to create a new business district in lower Kiyovu to complement the existing CBD, although as of late 2017 there had been only a handful of buildings erected there. Other eastern suburbs include Kacyiru , home to most government departments and

35112-409: The government introduced measures to allow potential victims to move to safer areas such as Kigali. The akazu also began a major propaganda campaign, broadcasting and publishing material designed to persuade the Hutu population that the Tutsi were a separate and alien people, non-Christians seeking to re-establish the old Rwandan feudal monarchy with the final goal of enslaving the Hutu. This included

35343-444: The government of removing poor people and children from the city's streets and moving them to detention centres. Kigali is located in the centre of Rwanda, at 1°57′S 30°4′E. Like the rest of Rwanda it uses Central Africa Time , and is two hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC+02:00) throughout the year. The city is coterminous with the province of Kigali, one of the five provinces of Rwanda introduced in 2006 as part of

35574-464: The government. The sums involved were not enormous but, with tight financial discipline and a leadership willing to lead frugal lives, the RPF was able to grow its operational capability. It obtained its weapons and ammunition from a variety of sources, including the open market, taking advantage of a surplus of weaponry at the end of the Cold War . It is likely they also received weaponry from officers in

35805-449: The hands of Bugesera and Gisaka. The formation of a new Rwandan dynasty in the 17th century by the mwami (king), Ruganzu II Ndoli , followed by eastward invasions and the conquest of Bugesera, marked the beginning of the Rwandan kingdom's dominance in the area. The capital of the kingdom was at Nyanza , in the south of the country. The founding of Kigali is generally dated to 1907, when German administrator and explorer Richard Kandt

36036-546: The hills and alluvial soils in the valleys. The Nyabarongo River , part of the upper headwaters of the Nile , forms the western and southern borders of the administrative city of Kigali, although this river lies somewhat outside the built-up urban area. The largest river running through the city is the Nyabugogo River , which flows south from Lake Muhazi before flowing west between Mount Kigali and Mount Jali, and draining into

36267-479: The incident, concluded that it was most likely a coup carried out by extreme Hutu members of Habyarimana's government. This theory was disputed in 2006 by French judge Jean-Louis Bruguière and in 2008 by Spanish judge Fernando Andreu . Both alleged that Kagame and the RPF were responsible. At the end of 2010 the judges succeeding Bruguière ordered a more thorough scientific examination, which employed experts in ballistics and acoustics. This report seemed to reaffirm

36498-560: The initial theory that Hutu extremists assassinated Habyarimana. But the report did not lead the judges to drop the charges against the RPF suspects; this was finally done in 2018, due to lack of evidence. The shooting down of the plane served as the catalyst for the Rwandan genocide , which began within a few hours. A crisis committee was formed by the military, headed by Colonel Théoneste Bagosora, which refused to recognise Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana as leader, even though she

36729-413: The invasion. The Rwandan Government announced on 30 October that the war was over. The Rwandan Government used the attack on Kigali on 4   October as the pretext for the arbitrary arrest of more than 8,000 mostly Tutsi political opponents. Tutsi were increasingly viewed with suspicion; Radio Rwanda aired incitement to ethnic hatred and a pogrom was organised by local authorities on 11 October in

36960-429: The knowledge that many of those on the other side of the table were hardliners who were not sincerely interested in negotiations. He feared that shunning the opportunity for peace would weaken the RPF politically and lose them international goodwill. Finally there was the group representing President Habyarimana himself, who sought primarily to hold on to his power in whatever form he could. This meant publicly striving for

37191-519: The late 1980s caused a loss of income for Rwanda's wealthy elite, precipitating a political fight for power and access to foreign aid receipts. The family of first lady Agathe Habyarimana , known as the akazu , were the principal winners in this fight. The family had a more respected lineage than that of the President, having ruled one of the independent states near Gisenyi in the nineteenth century. Habyarimana therefore relied on them in controlling

37422-497: The latter including banking, pensions, insurance, microfinance, and the Rwanda Stock Exchange , which launched in 2011. Industry in Kigali formed only 14 per cent of the city's GDP in 2014, focused on a small industrial zone set up in the 1970s. Challenges for the sector include the high cost of importing raw materials into a land-locked country, as well as substandard infrastructure and a lack of skilled workers. In 2011,

37653-492: The major one from June to September, during which there is often no rain at all, and a shorter and less severe one from December to February. The wettest month is April, with an average rainfall of 154 millimetres (6.1 in), while the driest month is July. Global warming has caused a change in the pattern of the rainy seasons. According to a report by the Strategic Foresight Group , change in climate has reduced

37884-565: The many hills and ridges. Kiyovu is the closest, on the eastern slopes of Nyarugenge Hill. The higher part of Kiyovu, to the south of main road KN3 , has been home to wealthy foreign residents and Rwandans since colonial times, with large houses and high-end restaurants. The residence of the Rwandan president is located in this area. The lower part of Kiyovu, north of the main road, consisted until 2008 of informal settlements that had formed after independence, when strict residence rules were relaxed. The houses in lower Kiyovu were expropriated by

38115-427: The military situation on the ground. The RPF now found themselves under attack, French shells bombarding them as they advanced southwards. By 20 February the RPF had advanced to within 30 km (19 mi) of the capital, Kigali , and many observers believed an assault on the city was imminent. The assault did not take place, and the RPF instead declared a cease-fire. Whether or not the RPF intended to advance on

38346-534: The musicians also give lessons to attendees during the festival. The Hobe Rwanda Festival , held in September, features music as well as dance and local art. A number of films about the Rwandan genocide have been filmed in Kigali, including 100 Days , Sometimes in April , Shooting Dogs and Shake Hands with the Devil . Others, such as Hotel Rwanda , were set in the city but filmed in other countries. Several of

38577-565: The nation. This is followed by an official week of mourning and, on 4 July, the Liberation Day holiday. Along with the rest of Rwanda, the last Saturday of each month in Kigali is umuganda , a morning of mandatory community service lasting from 8   am to 11   am. All able-bodied people between 18 and 65 are expected to carry out community tasks such as cleaning streets or building homes for vulnerable people. Most normal services close down during umuganda , and public transportation

38808-425: The national parliament building from several directions but RPF troops stationed there successfully fought back. The RPF then crossed the demilitarised zone from their territory in the north and began an attack on three fronts, leaving their opponents unsure of their true intentions or whether an assault on Kigali was imminent. UNAMIR contingents in the demilitarised zone withdrew to their camps to avoid being caught in

39039-401: The next two months reorganising the army, without carrying out any military operations. Alexis Kanyarengwe , a Hutu colonel who had worked with Habyarimana but had fallen out with him and gone into exile, joined the RPF and was appointed chairman of the organisation. Another Hutu, Seth Sendashonga , became the RPF's liaison with Rwandan opposition parties. Most of the other senior recruits at

39270-403: The north-west of Rwanda and most Rwandans regarded the region as the heartland of the regime. An attack there guaranteed the population would become aware of the RPF's presence and Kagame hoped this would destabilise the government. During the night of 22 January, seven hundred RPF fighters descended from the mountains into hidden locations around the city, assisted by RPF sympathisers living in

39501-435: The number of rainy days experienced during a year, but has also caused an increase in frequency of torrential rains. Strategic Foresight also characterise Rwanda as a rapidly warming country, with an increase in average temperature of between 0.7 °C to 0.9 °C over the 50 years to 2013. As of the 2012 Rwandan census, the population of Kigali was 1,132,686, of which 859,332 were urban residents. The population density

39732-469: The office of the president ; Gisozi , where the Kigali Genocide Memorial is located; Nyarutarama , an affluent suburb housing the city's only golf course ; Kimihurura ; Remera and Kanombe , 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the CBD on the eastern edge of the city, where Kigali International Airport is located. Kigali has been ranked the "cleanest city in Africa" in recent years. Under

39963-426: The old system. Six of the council members are directly elected by the public, each district electing one man and one woman. The remaining five members are appointed by the president of Rwanda, subject to the approval of the cabinet . Each council member serves for a renewable five-year term. The executive branch of the city government is headed by the mayor, who is elected via a complex electoral college system, with

40194-520: The other parties realised they could use this situation to their advantage. The idea of a "final solution", which had first been suggested in 1992 but had remained a fringe viewpoint, was now top of their agenda. An informant from the Interahamwe told UNAMIR officials a group of Hutu extremists were planning on disrupting the peace process and killing Tutsis in Kigali. The cease-fire ended abruptly on 6   April 1994 when President Habyarimana's plane

40425-471: The pair began building a covert network of Rwandan Tutsi refugees within the army's ranks, intended as the nucleus for such an attack. With the pro-refugee Museveni in power, RANU was able to move back to Kampala. At its 1987 convention it renamed itself to the Rwandan Patriotic Front and it too committed to returning the refugees to Rwanda by any means possible. In 1988, a leadership crisis within

40656-451: The parliament passed a law establishing special economic zones in Rwanda, the first of which was established in 2014 on Masoro Hill in Gasabo district, close to Kigali International Airport. Companies operating within the zone benefit from good infrastructure, availability of land and transport links, as well as tax breaks. It attracted 61 businesses in its first year of operation, manufacturing products such as paper and foam mattresses. As

40887-448: The parties became known as Hutu Power , a movement which transcended party politics. Apart from the CDR there was no party that was exclusively part of the Power movement. Instead almost every party was split into "moderate" and "Power" wings, with members of both camps claiming to represent the legitimate leadership of that party. Even the ruling party contained a Power wing, consisting of those who opposed Habyarimana's intention to sign

41118-456: The population of the north-west. The akazu exploited this to their advantage, and Habyarimana was increasingly unable to rule without them. The economic situation forced Habyarimana to greatly reduce the national budget , which led to civil unrest. On the advice of French president François Mitterrand , Habyarimana declared a commitment to multi-party politics but took no action to bring this about. Student protests followed and by late 1990

41349-433: The precariousness of their own positions, the opportunity afforded by both the renewed drive of refugees to leave Uganda, and the instability on the Rwandan domestic scene, Rwigyema and Kagame decided in mid-1990 to effect their invasion plans immediately. It is likely President Museveni knew of the planned invasion but did not explicitly support it. In mid-1990 Museveni ordered Rwigyema to attend an officer training course at

41580-459: The presidency of Juvénal Habyarimana, and Rose Kabuye , who had fought with the RPF during the Rwandan Civil War and was the first post-genocide mayor from 1994 to 1997. Day-to-day budget and staff management are the responsibility of a city manager, appointed by the prime minister . In addition to the city government, most Rwandan government offices are located in Kigali, particularly in

41811-431: The president's own MRND party. The second group was the official opposition, which excluded the CDR. They had much more democratic and conciliatory aims but were also deeply suspicious of the RPF, whom they saw as trying to upset the "democratic" policy of Hutu rule established in the 1959 revolution. The third group was the RPF. Paul Kagame engaged with the peace process against the advice of some of his senior officers, in

42042-399: The prisoners were liberated. Several prisoners were recruited into the RPF, including Théoneste Lizinde , a former close ally of President Habyarimana, who had been arrested following a failed coup attempt in 1980. The RPF forces held Ruhengeri through the afternoon of 23 January, before withdrawing into the mountains for the night. The raid undermined the Rwandan Government's claims that

42273-457: The raw mineral is exported out of Rwanda for processing, but there are some local processing facilities. This includes the Karuruma smelter in the northern suburbs of Kigali, which was built in the 1980s and was able to produce up to 1,800 tonnes (1,800 long tons; 2,000 short tons) of pure tin per year as of 2019. Kigali is a province-level city, one of the five provinces of Rwanda. The area under

42504-416: The rearguard. By noon, the defending forces were defeated and the RPF held the whole city. Most of the civilian population fled. One of the principal RPF targets in Ruhengeri was the prison, which was Rwanda's largest. When he learnt of the invasion the warden, Charles Uwihoreye  [ fr ] , telephoned the government in Kigali to request instructions. He spoke to Colonel Elie Sagatwa , one of

42735-401: The rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) did come close to attacking the city in February 1993. In December of the same year, following the signing of the Arusha Accords , a United Nations peacekeeping force was established in the city, and the RPF were granted use of a building in the city for their diplomats and soldiers. In April 1994 President Habyarimana was assassinated when his plane

42966-460: The rebels' bargaining power at the peace talks. The next subject for the negotiations was the proportion of troops and officers to be allocated to each side in the new unified army. By demonstrating its military power in the field, through a successful offensive against the Rwandan Government forces, the RPF was able to secure an increased percentage of troops in the agreement. The RPF began its offensive on 8   February, fighting southwards from

43197-508: The recruitment of locals to assist the European armies during the war, the plundering of food by soldiers, and torrential rains which destroyed crops, led to a severe famine at the start of the Belgian administration. The famine, combined with the difficulty of governing the complex Rwandan society, prompted the Belgians to re-establish the German-style indirect rule at the end of 1917. Musinga

43428-415: The rugged terrain of the Virungas offered protection from attacks, even if the RPF's position was discovered. The march west took almost a week during which the soldiers crossed the border into Uganda several times, with the permission of President Museveni, taking advantage of personal friendships between the RPF soldiers and their ex-colleagues in the Ugandan Army. Meanwhile, some RPF soldiers remained as

43659-637: The same period. As of 2020, ten of the fourteen teams in Rwanda's National Basketball League play their home games in Kigali, with venues including Club Rafiki and the Integrated Polytechnic Regional College Kigali, as well as the Amahoro Stadium's Petit stade and the Kigali Arena. This includes the two most successful clubs Patriots BBC and Espoir BBC , who have won five and four league titles respectively. Kigali

43890-546: The seat of colonial administration for Rwanda but Ruanda-Urundi's capital was at Usumbura (now Bujumbura ) in Burundi and Kigali remained a small city with a population of just 6,000 at the time of independence. Kigali grew slowly during the following decades. It was not initially directly affected by the Rwandan Civil War between government forces and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), which began in 1990. However, in April 1994 Rwanda's President Juvénal Habyarimana

44121-468: The signing of the Arusha Accords in August 1993. An uneasy peace followed, during which the terms of the accords were gradually implemented. RPF troops were deployed to a compound in Kigali and the peace-keeping United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) was sent to the country. The Hutu Power movement was steadily gaining influence and planned a "final solution" to exterminate the Tutsi. This plan

44352-418: The sixteen teams in the association football Rwanda Premier League are based in Kigali. Most of these do not have their own stadia and play fixtures at multiple venues including Amahoro Stadium, Nyamirambo Regional Stadium and various smaller grounds. The country's two most successful teams are based in the city: APR FC , who won eighteen championships between 1969 and 2020, and Rayon Sports , who won nine in

44583-809: The subject, was that Rwigyema was killed by a stray bullet. In his 2009 book Africa's World War , Prunier says Rwigyema was killed by his subcommander Peter Bayingana, following an argument over tactics. According to this account, Rwigyema was conscious of the need to move slowly and attempt to win over the Hutu in Rwanda before assaulting Kigali, whereas Bayingana and fellow subcommander Chris Bunyenyezi wished to strike hard and fast, to achieve power as soon as possible. The argument boiled over, causing Bayingana to shoot Rwigyema dead. Another senior RPF officer, Stephen Nduguta , witnessed this shooting and informed President Museveni; Museveni sent his brother Salim Saleh to investigate, and Saleh ordered Bayingana's and Bunyenyezi's arrests and eventual executions. When news of

44814-679: The suburbs of Kacyiru and Kimihurura. This includes Village Urugwiro in Kacyiru, which is the office of the president, and the Chamber of Deputies and Senate in Kimihurura. In common with the rest of the country, policing in Kigali is provided by the Rwanda National Police (RNP). The city falls within RNP's central division, which is headed as of 2020 by Assistant Commissioner of Police Felly Rutagerura Bahizi. The United States government's Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) praises

45045-502: The support of Rwigyema, but this was quickly repelled by the Rwandan Army. Rwandan President Habyarimana was aware of the increasing number of Tutsi exiles in the Ugandan Army and made representations to President Museveni on the matter. At the same time many native Ugandans and Baganda officers in the NRA began criticising Museveni over his appointment of Rwandan refugees to senior positions. He therefore demoted Kagame and Rwigyema in 1989. They remained de facto senior officers but

45276-447: The systematic killing of huge numbers of Tutsi, as well as some politically moderate Hutu, through well-planned attacks. Over the course of approximately 100 days between 500,000 and 1,000,000 were killed. On 7 April, as the genocide started, RPF commander Paul Kagame warned the interim government and the United Nations peacekeepers that he would resume the civil war if the killing did not stop. The next day Rwandan Army forces attacked

45507-402: The teams in Arusha signed a full power-sharing agreement, dividing government positions between the MRND, RPF and other major opposition parties, but excluding the CDR. This government was supposed to rule the country under a transitional constitution until free and fair elections could be held. The agreement reflected the balance of power at the time; Habyarimana, the mainstream opposition, and

45738-399: The ten Belgians, three Ghanaians, a Uruguayan, and Senegalese Mbaye Diagne who risked his life repeatedly to save Rwandans. Kigali Kigali ( Kinyarwanda pronunciation: [ci.ɡɑ́.ɾi] ) is the capital and largest city of Rwanda . It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As

45969-399: The territory it already held in Rwanda's northern border regions. In contrast to the October 1990 and 1991–1992 campaigns, the RPF advance in 1993 was met by weak resistance from the Rwandan Army forces. The likely reason was a significant deterioration in morale and military experience within the government forces. The impact of the long-running war on the economy, and a heavy devaluation of

46200-608: The time of the outbreak of war, attending the military training course in Fort Leavenworth. He and Rwigyema had been in frequent contact by telephone throughout his stay in Kansas, planning the final details for the October invasion. At the end of September Kagame informed the college that he was leaving the course, and was settling his affairs ready to return to Africa as the invasion began. The college allowed him to leave with several textbooks, which he later used in planning tactics for

46431-413: The time were Ugandan-based Tutsi. Personnel numbers grew steadily, volunteers coming from the exile communities in Burundi, Zaire and other countries. Kagame maintained tight discipline in his army, enforcing a regimented training routine, as well as a large set of rules for soldier conduct. Soldiers were expected to pay for goods purchased in the community, refrain from alcohol and drugs, and to establish

46662-483: The traditional seat of the mwami , and the southern city of Butare (known as Astrida under the Belgians), due to its prominence as a centre of intellect and religion. The authorities eventually chose Kigali because of its more central location. The city grew steadily during the following decades; in the early 1970s the population was 25,000 with only five paved roads, and by 1991 it was around 250,000. On 5 July 1973 there

46893-435: The underlying causes of the war. Faced with a growing domestic dispute over the issue, and with no obvious prospect of achieving peace, the Belgian government withdrew its troops by the beginning of November. Belgium provided no further military support to the Habyarimana government. Zairian President Mobutu Sese Seko 's contribution was to send several hundred troops of the elite Special Presidential Division (DSP). Unlike

47124-600: The upmarket Serena , Marriott and Mille Collines hotels, the University Teaching Hospital of Kigali , the national university's College of Science and Technology , and government buildings such as the National Bank of Rwanda and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning . To the south west of the CBD, and also on the Nyarugenge Hill, is the suburb of Nyamirambo . This was the second part of

47355-481: The war had simply been a bid to replace the Hutu state with a Tutsi one. The increased presence of French troops and the fierce loyalty of the Hutu population to the government meant an invasion of Kigali would not have been achieved with the same ease that the RPF had conquered the north. Fighting for the capital would have been a much more difficult and dangerous operation. Several of Kagame's senior officers urged him to go for outright victory but he overruled them. By

47586-471: The war. The RPF made some territorial gains including capturing the border town of Gatuna . This was significant as it blocked Rwanda's access to the port of Mombasa via the Northern Corridor , forcing all trade to go through Tanzania via the longer and costlier Central Corridor . By late 1991 the RPF controlled 5% of Rwanda, setting up its new headquarters in an abandoned tea factory near Mulindi , Byumba province. Many Hutu civilians in areas captured by

47817-431: The war. When Kagame learned of Rwigyema's death on 5   October, he departed immediately to take command of the RPF troops. He flew through London and Addis Ababa to Entebbe Airport , where he was given safe passage by a friend in the Ugandan secret service; the police considered arresting him, but with Museveni out of the country and no specific orders, they allowed him to pass. Ugandan associates drove Kagame to

48048-430: The whole north-west of Rwanda and lasted for six days; many houses were burned and hundreds of Tutsi killed. Paul Kagame responded by pulling out of the Arusha process and resuming the war, ending the six-month cease-fire. The RPF cited the CDR and MRND-hardliner violence as its reason for this, but according to foreign policy scholar Bruce D. Jones the offensive may actually have been intended primarily to increase

48279-484: The zone grew over subsequent years, further businesses relocated there from other parts of the capital such as the Gikondo Industrial Park. The city sits close to deposits of cassiterite , an ore used to obtain tin , as well as tungsten . Cassiterite is mined in the town of Rutongo , around 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) north of Kigali, while tungsten is mined at Nyakabingo , a similar distance away. Much of

48510-402: Was a bloodless military coup , in which minister of defence Juvénal Habyarimana overthrew ruling president Grégoire Kayibanda . Military officers had gathered in Kigali for a military tattoo to commemorate Independence Day a few days earlier, and they began occupying government buildings from dawn on 4 July. Businesses closed for a few days, and troops patrolled across the city, but the coup

48741-491: Was 1,552 inhabitants per square kilometre (4,020/sq mi). At the time of independence in 1962, Kigali had 6,000 inhabitants, consisting primarily of those associated with the Belgian colonial residency. It grew considerably after being named as the independent nation's capital, although it remained a relatively small city until the 1970s due to government policies restricting rural-to-urban migration . The population reached 115,000 by 1978, and 235,000 by 1991. The city lost

48972-473: Was 15 per cent, compared with 37 per cent for Rwanda as a whole. The 2012 census recorded a workforce of 487,000 in Kigali. The city's biggest employment sector is agriculture, fishing and forestry, covering 24 per cent of the workforce; utilities and financial services with 21 per cent; trade 20 per cent and government 12 per cent. In 2018 Kigali scored 0.632 on the Human Development Index (HDI),

49203-449: Was appointed as the first resident of Rwanda , and established the city as the headquarters. Alexis Kagame promoted an alternative theory that the city was established as a capital under Cyilima I Rugwe in either the 1300s or the 1500s. There is little direct evidence for this, however, and the more recent kings of the pre-colonial era are known to have been based at Nyanza. Rwanda and neighbouring Burundi had been assigned to Germany by

49434-405: Was awarded hosting of the 2025 UCI Road World Championships, marking the first time the organisation's flagship event visits Africa. The Rwandan government has increased investment in the transport infrastructure of Rwanda since the 1994 genocide, with aid from the United States, European Union, Japan, China, and others. Kigali is the centre of the country's road network, with paved roads linking

49665-458: Was being used to perpetrate the mass killings. By June President Habyarimana had come to view Hutu Power, rather than the mainstream opposition, as the biggest threat to his leadership. This led him to change tactics and engage fully with the Arusha peace process, giving it the impetus it needed to draw to a completion. According to Prunier this support was more symbolic than genuine. Habyarimana believed he could maintain power more easily through

49896-417: Was bloodless and life continued as normal, historian Gérard Prunier describing the reaction as "widespread popular relief". According to a US Department of State diplomatic cable sent shortly afterwards, the disruption following the coup was short-lived and the army had left the streets by 11 July. Kigali was not directly affected during the first three years of the 1990–1994 Rwandan Civil War , although

50127-444: Was brought in by the colonial Governor. Logiest re-established law and order and began a programme of overt promotion and protection of the Hutu elite. He replaced many Tutsi chiefs with Hutu and effectively forced King Kigeli   V into exile. Logiest and Hutu leader Grégoire Kayibanda declared the country an autonomous republic in 1961 and it became independent in 1962. More than 336,000 Tutsi left Rwanda by 1964 to escape

50358-551: Was continually hampered by the regime. The last opposition party to form was the Coalition for the Defence of the Republic (CDR), which was more hardline Hutu than Habyarimana's own party and had close links to the akazu . Progress remained slow in 1991 and 1992. A cabinet set up in October 1991 contained almost no opposition, and the administrative hierarchy across the country recognised

50589-440: Was due to Kagame's being a "master of psychological warfare"; he exploited the fact that the Rwandan Army were concentrating on the genocide rather than the fight for Kigali and exploited the government's loss of morale as it lost territory. The RPF finally defeated the Rwandan Army in Kigali on 4   July and on 18 July took Gisenyi and the rest of the north-west, forcing the interim government into Zaire. This RPF victory ended

50820-632: Was introducing multi-party politics into the country, following intense pressure from the international community, including his most loyal ally France. Habyarimana had originally promised this in mid-1990, and opposition groups had formed in the months since, including the Republican Democratic Movement (MDR), Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Liberal Party (PL), but the one-party state law had remained in place. In mid-1991 Habyarimana officially allowed multi-party politics to begin,

51051-420: Was killed when his aircraft was shot down near Kigali. His death was followed by the Rwandan genocide against Tutsi, which killed over 1,000,000 Tutsi. The RPF resumed fighting, ending a cease-fire of more than a year. They gradually took control of most of the country and seized Kigali on 4 July 1994. Post-genocide Kigali has experienced rapid population growth, with much of the city rebuilt. The city of Kigali

51282-508: Was legally next in the line of political succession. UN commander General Dallaire labelled this a coup and insisted that Uwilingiyimana be placed in charge, but Bagosora refused. The Presidential Guard killed Uwilingiyimana and her husband during the night, along with ten Belgian UNAMIR soldiers charged with her protection and other prominent moderate politicians and journalists. The crisis committee appointed an interim government, still effectively controlled by Bagosora, which began ordering

51513-454: Was not historically the hub of Rwanda's cultural heritage. For example, the country's traditional dance, a choreographed routine consisting of three components, originated in the royal court at Nyanza. However, the capital is now home to many groups which perform the dance including the LEAF community arts troupe, whose founding members were eighteen homeless orphaned children, and Indatirwabahizi ,

51744-400: Was not replicated at secondary level in which rural districts were the top performers. The top-three performing individual secondary schools offering the Rwandan syllabus— FAWE Girls' School , Petit Séminaire St Vincent de Ndera , and Lycée Notre-Dame de Cîteaux —were all in Kigali, however. The city also has a number of private schools, which target wealthy Rwandans and expatriates, including

51975-420: Was originally applied to Mount Kigali , most likely because the mountain itself was broad and wide, with the city later being named after the mountain. According to Rwandan oral history, the name originated in the 14th century. Rwandan scholar Alexis Kagame , who did extensive research into the country's oral history and traditions, wrote that the name Kigali came into use after King Cyilima I Rugwe completed

52206-423: Was policed. Rutikanga noted that there were crimes related to burglary, drugs, assault and robbery, as well as petty crime and pickpocketing, but that numbers were kept low through community policing and engagement with schools, businesses, municipal government and social service providers. In its advice to overseas visitors, OSAC states that there is a "moderate risk from crime in Kigali", but notes that such crime

52437-482: Was put into action following the assassination of President Habyarimana on 6   April 1994. Over the course of about a hundred days, between 500,000 and 1,000,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu were killed in the Rwandan genocide . The RPF quickly resumed the civil war. They captured territory steadily, encircling cities and cutting off supply routes. By mid-June they had surrounded the capital, Kigali , and on 4   July they seized it. The war ended later that month when

52668-399: Was restored to his throne at Nyanza, with Kigali remaining home to the colonial administration. This arrangement persisted until the mid-1920s, but from 1924 the Belgians began once more to sideline the monarchy, this time permanently. Belgium took over control of dispute resolution, appointment of officials and collection of taxes. Kigali remained relatively small through the remainder of

52899-446: Was shot down near Kigali Airport , killing both Habyarimana and the new President of Burundi , Cyprien Ntaryamira . The pair were returning home from a regional summit in Dar es Salaam at which the leaders of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, had urged Habyarimana to stop delaying the implementation of the Arusha accords. The attackers remain unknown. Prunier, in his book written shortly after

53130-405: Was shot down near Kigali International Airport . Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira was also killed in the attack. This was the catalyst for the Rwandan genocide , in which 500,000–800,000 Tutsi and politically moderate Hutu were killed in well-planned attacks on the orders of the interim government. Opposition politicians based in Kigali were killed on the first day of the genocide, and

53361-422: Was the country's principal centre for tertiary education . Early colleges such as the Nyakibanda Major Seminary , founded in 1936, and three 1960s establishments including the National University of Rwanda (UNR), were all located in the southern city. The first higher-education institution in Kigali was the Institut Africain et Mauricien de statistique et d'économie appliquée , which was founded in 1976, but

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