His-Majesty Kigeli V of Rwanda

Kigeli V Ndahindurwa (born June 29, 1936) was the ruling last King (Mwami) of Rwanda from 25 July 1959 until 28 January 1961.^[1] He was born in Kamembe, Rwanda. His Christian name is Jean-Baptiste Ndahindurwa.^[2] He currently resides in the United States.

Education

He received his education at the Groupe Scolaire Astrida (now Groupe Scolaire Officiel de Butare) in Rwanda,^[3] and at Nyangezi College in the modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo

Appointment as King

Brass lapel pin Vive Kigeli V “Long Live Kigeli V” (37x12mm)

After King Mutara Rudahigwa died under mysterious circumstances in 1959, he was replaced on the throne by his younger brother Jean-Baptiste Ndahindurwa as King Kigeli V of Rwanda when he was only 23 years old.^[4]

Political instability and tribal conflict grew despite the efforts of King Kigeli Ndahindurwa. An increasingly restive Hutu population, encouraged by the Belgian military, sparked a revolt in November 1959. In 1961, King Kigeli V was in Kinshasa to meet with Secretary-General of the United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld when Dominique Mbonyumutwa, with the support of the Belgian government, led a coup d’état that took control of the government. The coup resulted in the 1961 referendum about the fate of the monarchy. He initially fled into exile to Tanganyika, where he lived in Dar es Salaam, Kampala, Uganda, Nairobi and Washington, D.C., United States.

Exile and recent activities

In June 1992, he was granted political asylum by the United States and lives near Washington, D.C..^[5] He has traveled internationally to speak on behalf of the Rwandan people and repeatedly called for peace and harmony between the different groups. King Kigeli V has continued to remember the victims of the Rwandan Genocide and makes every attempt to reconcile between all political, ethnic, and religious parties in Rwanda to use the democratic process to solve any disputes. Kigeli was a friend of former South African president Nelson Mandela.

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

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

King Kigeli V is a full “de jure” sovereign with all the rights, privileges, and full honors of this dignity. He has obeyed the international requirements to preserve these rights in perpetuity. There are four royal orders that forms Rwandas royal chivalric patrimony. They were listed in Burke’s Peerage World Orders of Knighthood and Merit work in 2006.

Kigeli V has recently lived in the Oakton, Virginia area. He resides in government-provided social housing and survives on handouts from well-wishers. Though Kigeli lost his throne in 1961, he has received cash payments in the range of $1,000 to $8,000 each for the materials that he has issued; recpients of benefits include one of his tailors and one of his dentists. Kigeli’s orders include the “Royal Order of the Crested Crane”, the “Royal Order of the Crown”, and the “Royal Order of the Lion”.

Charity

He currently heads the King Kigeli V Foundation, whose mission is to bring humanitarian initiatives on behalf of Rwandan refugees.

Awards and non-hereditary orders and titles.

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

Orders and decorations received by the King:

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

Quotes

• “The genocide is a result of a loss of respect and culture,” he said. “The young people do not respect or listen to their elders – If I am allowed to return, I will encourage intermarriage among the groups so that we can become one people again.”^[14]
• “A king is like a father to the nation… All the tribes are like his children.”^[5]
• “My people did not choose to end the monarchy in Rwanda, that was imposed on them by the (Belgians).”^[14]
• “To really die for your country you become a hero”; King Kigeli said through his interpreter; “He was most impressed by the King dream for peace and human rights and that is my dream for Rwanda.”^[14]
• “I’m for everyone. I want every one to be a child of God. I want both sides to have peace.”

References

1. Jump up ^ Cahoon, Ben M. (2010). “World Statesmen”. Retrieved 2010-03-12.
2. Jump up ^ Genealogy
3. Jump up ^ Bucyensenge, Jean Pierre (JP). “GSO-Butare marks 83rd anniversary.” New Times. (Archive) 25 September 2012. Retrieved on 6 March 2013.
4. ^ Jump up to: ^{a b} “A King with No Country,” Washingtonian Magazine, April 2013
5. ^ Jump up to: ^{a b} Pickert, Kate (2008-06-05). “Life After the Throne, As King Gyanendra prepares to depart from the Nepalese royal palace, TIME takes a look at how other former and wannabe Monarchs have weathered the loss of their crowns: Kigeli Ndahindurwa V, Former King of Rwanda”. Time.com (Time). Retrieved 2010-03-12.
6. Jump up ^ The Rwanda Genocide: The Most Preventable Tragedy of Our Time
7. Jump up ^ David Bamford, “Rwanda’s former king eyes return”, BBC News, August 18, 2007.
8. Jump up ^ The Augustan Society
9. Jump up ^ Stanford Journal of International Relations
10. Jump up ^ Burke’s Peerage World Orders of Knighthood and Merit by Guy Stair Sainty and Rafel Heydel-Mankoo. Pages 795 – 798.
11. Jump up ^ “Noble titles: Honours and offers”. The Economist. 28 September 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
12. Jump up ^ Lyons, Patrick J. (2007-07-23). “Dwindling Links to Monarchies Past”. The Lede, The New York Times News Blog. The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-03-12.
13. Jump up ^ King Kigeli
14. ^ Jump up to: ^{a b c} Barabin, Alexandria (2005-11-01). “Rwanda King Kigeli V speaks at CSUN”. Daily Sundail (California State University-Northridge). Retrieved 2010-03-12.