“The Brutal Assassination Of Rwanda’s First And Only Female Prime Minister”
Agathe Uwilingiyimana, Rwanda’s first and only female Prime Minister, was assassinated on April 7, 1994, at the beginning of the Rwandan genocide.
Born in 1953 to peasant farmers, Agathe rose from a humble background to become a chemistry teacher and one of the first women to obtain a bachelor’s degree from the National University of Rwanda in 1985. She later taught science in secondary schools before entering government service.
In 1992, Agathe was appointed Minister of Education. She also became a founding member of the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE), an organisation that promotes girls’ education across Africa.
Agathe later joined the Republican Democratic Movement (MDR), an opposition political party. She was a moderate Hutu who opposed ethnic extremism and supported political cooperation between Rwanda’s rival groups.
On July 18, 1993, she became Prime Minister of Rwanda. Her appointment came at a critical time when President Juvénal Habyarimana’s government was negotiating a power-sharing agreement with the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a predominantly Tutsi rebel movement.
However, some Hutu extremists opposed the peace agreement and rejected efforts to share political power.
On the evening of April 6, 1994, President Habyarimana’s plane was shot down as it approached Kigali, killing everyone on board. His death triggered a political and military crisis.
As Prime Minister, Agathe became the country’s constitutional head of government and, during the brief period before her assassination, the constitutional successor to the presidency. She planned to address the nation through Radio Rwanda, urging people to remain calm as violence spread across the capital.
Recognising the danger, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) sent 10 Belgian peacekeepers to protect her and escort her to the radio station.
However, members of the Presidential Guard surrounded her residence and blocked the planned broadcast.
On the morning of April 7, 1994, the Belgian peacekeepers were disarmed and taken into custody. They were later killed by Rwandan government soldiers.
Meanwhile, Agathe and her husband, Emmanuel Uwilingiyimana, sought refuge in a neighbouring United Nations compound to escape the advancing soldiers.
However, the soldiers eventually found them. Agathe and her husband surrendered, hoping to protect their five children and the aid workers sheltering nearby.
The soldiers stripped, beat and sexually assaulted Agathe on the grounds of the compound before executing her with a gunshot to the head. Her husband was also killed.
Their children survived after hiding in a United Nations compound. They were later evacuated from Rwanda to Switzerland with the help of the United Nations.
The genocide then spread across Rwanda, with extremist forces and their supporters carrying out the mass killing of Tutsi and moderate Hutu. Approximately 800,000 people were killed during the 1994 genocide.
– Victor Adundo