Rose Marie Uwimbabazi, the daughter of Michel Rwagasana
For over thirty years, Rose Marie Uwimbabazi knew little about her father and the family history that shaped her past.
Her father, Michel Rwagasana, was a man erased from history, his name whispered only in secrecy.
A cousin of President Grégoire Kayibanda, Rwagasana was executed in 1963 for refusing to support ethnic politics, marking him as an enemy of the state.
Even among historians, little has been written about Rwagasana, despite his holding positions that should have secured his place in historical records.
He worked in the King’s office, was a relative of President Grégoire Kayibanda, and served as Secretary-General of a unifying political movement-UNAR. He was also among the first Rwandans to travel abroad before independence.
Government military operatives arrested and executed Michel Rwagasana in 1963, along with other key figures who opposed ethnic politics.
For over thirty years, Uwimbabazi knew very little about her father and the wider family history.
Family members who knew parts of the past were unwilling to speak about a man condemned as an enemy of the state, fearing the consequences of being associated with him.
This is the story of Rose MarieUwimbabazi, the daughter of Rwanda’s national hero Michel Rwagasana, who was murdered in 1963 by the government.
Michel Rwagasana
Uwimbabazi was born in exile in 1964, a year after her father had been killed.
“Following his death, my family faced persecution, forcing my mother to flee to refugee camps in Burundi and Uganda with my elder siblings and other relatives.”
While in exile, her mother feared for Uwimbabazi’s future, believing it would be difficult to provide her with a proper upbringing and education.
“When I was ten, she brought me back to Rwanda and left me with my paternal uncle while she returned to Uganda to care for my brothers, who could endure life in exile.”
One of her brothers later returned to Rwanda in secrecy to avoid detection by the authorities, who closely monitored Michel Rwagasana’s family.
“During my time in Rwanda, no one ever spoke about my father, and I remained unaware of his legacy until after the genocide, when people finally began to talk about him.”
In 1989, Uwimbabazi was awarded a scholarship to study in Belgium and had completed all necessary preparations, including obtaining visas and resigning from her job.
However, upon reaching Kigali airport, she was denied permission to leave the country without explanation.
“It was only later that my family revealed I had been prevented from leaving because I was the daughter of Michel Rwagasana. That revelation led me to understand that my father had been executed by Kayibanda’s government for refusing to support its ethnic politics.”
She gradually became aware that all of her father’s relatives had faced persecution after his death, living under constant harassment.
“In 1988, I learned that my mother was sick in exile in Uganda, and our family struggled to obtain travel documents to visit her. We only managed to secure them too late—we were unable to bury her.”
By 1990, possessing any document linked to Uganda had become increasingly dangerous under Habyarimana’s regime, which, like Kayibanda’s, continued persecuting those deemed enemies of the state.
When the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) launched the Liberation War to enable refugees to return home, two of her brothers, who were living in Kenya and Uganda, joined the Liberation Army.
“I only learned of their involvement later, when the persecution of our family, as relatives of Michel Rwagasana, intensified. These events made me realise that the fears my family had long harboured were now openly voiced by our persecutors.”
After the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, she finally learned about her father through his surviving friends and colleagues, many of whom were elderly by then.
As the only surviving child of Michel Rwagasana, people began seeking her out, finally feeling free to share his story.
“I realised that for decades, his name had been erased from history, even though he had been a righteous father, husband, and statesman.”
“Described as a great reader, a man of integrity, a fluent French speaker, and an impeccably dressed gentleman with a good sense of humour, my father was also a politician who became a target because he rejected ethnic divisions.”
After the Liberation struggle, Uwimbabazi returned to school and completed her university education, grateful that today, children can attend school freely, without discrimination based on family background.
“The recognition of Michel Rwagasana as a national hero brought relief to our family, transforming the man for whom we had suffered into a source of national pride.”
According to Uwimbabazi, Rwanda’s past stagnation stemmed from its policy of burying the noble deeds of its own people while promoting narratives that suited those in power.
“In school, the history we were taught did not reflect the realities we later uncovered after the Liberation struggle. By reading and seeking out genuine stories, we continue to learn about events that shaped our family—events we had never known before.”
