Events in Rwandan History
Stanley Leaves Rwanda
1876-09-14 Henry Morton Stanley's expedition leaves Rwanda
- 1921-03-01 Rwanda ceded to Great Britain
- 1961-01-28 Republic of Rwanda proclaimed
- 1961-08-23 Belgium sends troops to Rwanda-Urundi
- 1962-01-01 Rwanda granted internal self-government by Belgium
- 1962-06-30 Rwanda and Burundi become independent
- 1962-07-01 Burundi & Rwanda gain independence from Belgium (National Days)
- 1962-09-18 Rwanda, Burundi, Jamaica & Trinidad admitted (105th-108th) to UN
Coup d'état
1973-07-05 General Juvénal Habyarimana becomes president of Rwanda in a military coup d'état
- 1978-12-17 Referendum approves new constitution of Rwanda
- 1990-10-01 10,000 Uganda RPF rebels move into Rwanda
- 1991-01-23 Bagogwe Massacre of Tutsi in and around Ruhengeri, Northern Rwanda
Rwandan Genocide
1994-04-06 Plane carrying Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian President Cyprien Ntaryamira is shot down by surface-to-air missiles, abruptly ending peace negotiations and sparking the Rwandan Genocide. Those responsible have never been identified.
- 1994-04-13 Presidential guard at Kigali, Rwanda, chops 1,200 church members to death
- 1994-04-22 7,000 Tutsi slaughtered by Hutus in the stadium at Kibuye, Rwanda
- 1994-06-23 Opération Turquoise: 2,500 French troops head into Rwanda to protect civilians under the mandate of the United Nations
- 1994-07-15 Hundreds of thousands of Hutus flee to Zaire in the Congo near the end of the Rwandan Genocide
- 1994-08-21 The last French troops pull out of Rwanda, ending their highly controversial mission there
- 1996-12-10 Rwandan Genocide: Maurice Baril military advisor to the UN Secretary-General and head of the UN Military Division of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations recommends the UN multi-national forces in Zaire stand down
- 1997-01-18 In northwest Rwanda, Hutu militia members kill 3 Spanish aid workers, 3 soldiers and seriously wound one other.
- 1998-09-02 The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda finds Jean-Paul Akayesu, the former mayor of a small town in Rwanda, guilty of nine counts of genocide
- 2000-06-05 Armed conflict between Rwanda and Uganda erupts in Kinsangani, a city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- 2004-09-18 29th Toronto International Film Festival: "Hotel Rwanda" directed by Terry George wins the People's Choice Award
Election of Interest
2013-09-16 Paul Kagame wins re-election to the Rwandan presidency in a landslide
- 2017-08-04 Rwandan President Paul Kagame wins a third term with 98.63% of the vote
- 2018-02-28 700 illegal churches closed in Rwanda for being too noisy and lacking building permits
- 2018-03-10 16 people die after being struck by lightning at a church in Nyaruguru District, Rwanda
- 2018-03-21 African trade deal agreed by 44 African countries in Kigali, Rwanda
- 2018-05-07 More mudslides in Rwanda kill 18 people bringing the year's death toll to 200
Famous Rwandans
Juvénal Habyarimana
Paul Kagame