Coup of Gitarama

In the Rwandan Revolution, the coup of Gitarama (French: coup d'etat de Gitarama) was an event which occurred on 28 January 1961 in which the monarchy in Rwanda, then a part of the Belgian mandate of Ruanda-Urundi, was abolished and replaced with a republican political system. The traditional monarchy was led by a Mwami (king), who ruled through an administration of chiefs and subchiefs in the context of a feudal system of patron-client relations based on tribute. The Mwami and most of his chiefs were members of the Tutsi ethnic minority, a group which wielded considerable social, political economic power. Of subordinate status to the Tutsis was the Hutu ethnic majority. As part of their rule, the Belgians institutionalised a racial hierarchy which favoured the Tutsis at the expense of the Hutus.

A small Hutu counter-elite began to form after World War II, and its members began to promote an ideology known as Hutu Power, which challenged Tutsi-minority domination of Ruanda as an exploitation of the majority by foreigners. One of the new leaders was Grégoire Kayibanda, who in 1959 founded the Parti du Mouvement de l'Emancipation Hutu (PARMEHUTU), a political party which called for the end of Tutsi domination of social life and rejected anti-European hostility and supported gradual democratisation. At around the same time, conservative Tutsi created the Union Nationale Rwandaise (UNAR), a party which demanded immediate independence under the Tutsi monarchy. The Belgians began to show favour towards the staunchly Catholic and anticommunist Hutu elite, as the Tutsi elite and UNAR became more aligned with anticolonialism and socialism. Political tensions rose dramatically after the creation of the political parties, and Colonel Guy Logiest was brought in by the colonial administration to maintain order.

In 1960 the colonial administration hosted municipal elections which were won by PARMEHUTU, and set up a provisional national government in accordance with the results while barring Mwami Kigeli V Ndahindurwa from the country. The United Nations protested the situation, and demanded that Kigeli be allowed to return and a political amnesty be declared before national legislative elections were held. In early 1961 the Belgian metropolitan government reversed course, stating that it would abide by the recommendations of the UN, whereby elections would be delayed, separate referendums would be held on the existence of the monarchy and the issue of independence, and a more broad-based provisional government would be installed. Hutu politicians were infuriated by this decision, and Kayibanda met with Logiest to ask for his support in organising a coup to secure the Hutus' position.

On 28 January 1961 Hutu politicians met in the town of Gitarama and declared the dissolution of the monarchy and the creation of the "Republic of Rwanda". They then created a new government with Dominique Mbonyumutwa as president and Kayibanda as prime minister. The new regime indicated its willingness to remain under Belgian supervision and expressed its desire to meet with Belgian and UN officials. In turn, the Belgian colonial administration announced that it would work with the new Rwandan government. A new government in Belgium was formed in April and it adopted a policy of closer cooperation with the UN to improve its image and attempted to more closely supervise the colonial administration. While the question of the monarchy had yet to be decided via the referendum, Rwanda operated as a de facto republic. In the lead up to Rwanda's legislative elections, political violence killed hundreds of people and led thousands to flee their homes. The elections and the referendum on the monarchy were held on 25 September. PARMEHUTU won nearly 80 percent of the vote, and the population also voted overwhelmingly in favor of abolishing the monarchy. Rwanda became an independent state with Kayibanda as president on 1 July 1962.