The Banyarwanda are people who live in the Great Lakes Region of Africa, speak Kinyarwanda, and share cultural ties with Rwanda. They are found in countries such as Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.
They have faced numerous challenges due to historical injustices for which they were not responsible. Although their struggles vary from one country to another, the root cause is the same: forced migration.
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Understanding the history of Banyarwanda migration during the colonial era is essential to grasp the root causes of the problems they face today and to find fair solutions that guarantee them the rights they deserve as citizens of the region. Before the colonial era, Arab sultanates from the Middle East had established a thriving slave trade in the region. Enslaved Africans were taken to various destinations: sailors in Persia, pearl divers in the Gulf, soldiers in the Omani army, and labourers in the salt pans of Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq). Many were domestic slaves in wealthy households, and women were taken as sex slaves.
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There were also clove plantations on the Zanzibar and Pemba islands established by Sultan Seyyid Said. Meanwhile, the French had begun sugar and coffee plantations in Mauritius and Réunion Island–enterprises that also demanded slave labour. Portuguese and Spanish traders required slaves to transport to South America.
A variety of people–both Arabs and Africans–participated in this trade. Notably, Msiri and Mirambo established slave trading centres in northern Tanzania’s Unyamwezi Kingdom. Hamed bin Mohammed, also known as Tippu Tip, established a base west of Lake Tanganyika.
Millions of Africans from Burundi, DR Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda were sold into slavery. Senegalese author Tidiane N’Diaye estimates that 17 million East Africans were sold:
“Most people still associate slavery with the Transatlantic slave trade by Europeans to the New World. But in reality, the Arab-Muslim slave trade was much greater,” N’Diaye wrote.
The only kingdom in the region that was not affected by the slave trade was Rwanda.
Some scholars argue that there is no historical evidence suggesting Rwanda was untouched by the trade. However, credible accounts indicate otherwise. The first European explorers who attempted to enter Rwanda were told that King Kigeli IV Rwabugiri had banned Arab traders from entering the kingdom.
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One such explorer, Emin Pasha (baptized Eduard Carl Oscar Theodor Schnitzer), was informed that Rwandan chiefs rejected all involvement in the slave trade. Attempts to engage in trade with them were met with violent resistance, and Rwanda was nicknamed “the land of Bwana Mkali”–meaning “the land of the troublesome king.” Pasha ignored the warnings and attempted to enter Rwanda by bribing a local chief. To his astonishment, the chief refused his gifts. Pasha later wrote that he had never met an African who rejected a gift from a Muzungu (European). As far as records show, no slaves were ever taken from Rwandan territory.
When the Germans, British, and Belgians arrived to colonize the region, countries like Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, and eastern DR Congo had already lost millions to the slave trade and suffered further losses during anti-colonial uprisings.
Tanzania lost up to 300,000 people during the Maji-Maji uprising against the Germans. Kenya lost between 12,000 and 20,000 civilians and rebels during the Mau Mau rebellion. Uganda also experienced uprisings against British occupation, though the exact death toll remains uncertain.
If N’Diaye’s estimate is correct, East Africa lost over 18 million people–apart from Rwanda.
As the Belgians in DR Congo, the Germans in Tanzania, and the British in Uganda and Kenya faced depopulated and rebellious territories, they looked to the densely populated Kingdom of Rwanda for labour. This led to the forced migration of many Rwandans, especially to eastern DR Congo, where they worked on plantations and in mines. This migration was organized by the Belgian colonial administration under a policy called the Mission d’Immigration des Banyarwanda, created specifically to supply labour.
Other Rwandans were taken to Kericho County in Kenya, and until today, they are still seeking recognition as a Kenyan tribe. Thousands of others were taken to work in Ugandan plantations of Mityana, Lugazi and Mubende, while others went to work at the ports of Tanganyika.
This movement of people–beginning with colonial-era forced labour migrations and later compounded by the influx of Tutsi refugees fleeing persecution after the 1959 pogroms, as well as those who fled in July 1994 following the Rwandan Patriotic Army’s defeat of the genocidal regime–further expanded the Banyarwanda presence in neighbouring countries.
However, it’s important to recognize that some Banyarwanda had already been living in Uganda and DR Congo long before the colonial era. These communities are native Ugandans and native Congolese, not migrants or refugees.
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As mentioned earlier, the challenges facing Banyarwanda vary from one country to another.
In Uganda and Tanzania, many have been integrated into society, though they sometimes still face discrimination. In Kenya, they continue to struggle for recognition as a legitimate Kenyan ethnic group. In DR Congo, Banyarwanda communities continue to face violence–including genocidal attacks–and are still fighting for official recognition as Congolese citizens.
These historical realities affirm that Banyarwanda are rightful citizens of these respective countries. They should not be marginalized or excluded because of colonial-era movements or false political narratives as is the case in eastern DR Congo.
The legacy of colonialism must not be allowed to impede their rights. Its lingering consequences should never be used to deny Banyarwanda equal citizenship, recognition, or dignity. Instead, these communities deserve full inclusion in efforts toward peace, unity, and national development in the region.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
