Grégoire Kayibanda Becomes the First Elected President of Rwanda

On July 1, 1962, Rwanda gained independence from Belgium, and Grégoire Kayibanda became the country’s first elected President. He was the leader of the Parti du Mouvement de l'Emancipation Hutu (Parmehutu), a Hutu nationalist party that had led the 1959 Hutu Revolution, which overthrew the Tutsi monarchy. Kayibanda’s election symbolized the shift of power from the Tutsi minority to the Hutu majority, ending centuries of Tutsi dominance in Rwandan politics. His government focused on promoting Hutu interests, which led to discrimination against Tutsis and further ethnic divisions. Kayibanda’s presidency laid the foundation for Hutu dominance in Rwandan politics, but it also deepened the ethnic divide that would culminate in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. #RwandaHistory #GrégoireKayibanda #RwandanIndependence #HutuRepublic #TutsiExile #EastAfrica #ColonialLegacy #MomentsOfLife #MoofLife_Moment #MoofLife