Gitega (), formerly Kitega, is the

political capital Political capital (PC) refers to an individual's ability to influence political decisions. Political capital can be understood as a metaphor used in political theory to conceptualize the accumulation of resources and power built through relatio ...

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

. Located in the centre of the country, in the Burundian central plateau roughly east of

Bujumbura Bujumbura (; ), formerly Usumbura, is the economic capital, largest city and main port of Burundi. It ships most of the country's chief export, coffee, as well as cotton and tin ore. Bujumbura was formerly the country's political capital. In la ...

, the largest city and former political capital, Gitega is the country's fourth largest city and former royal capital of the

Kingdom of Burundi The Kingdom of Burundi (), also known as Kingdom of Urundi (), was a Bantu peoples, Bantu kingdom in the modern-day Burundi, Republic of Burundi. The Ganwa monarchs (with the title of ''List of kings of Burundi, mwami'') ruled over both Hutus and ...

until its abolition in 1966. In December 2018, then Burundian president, the late

Pierre Nkurunziza Pierre Nkurunziza (18 December 1964 – 8 June 2020) was a Burundian politician who served as the ninth president of Burundi for almost 15 years from August 2005 until his death in June 2020. A member of the Hutu, Hutu ethnic group, Nkurunziza ...

announced that he would follow on a 2007 promise to return Gitega its former political capital status, with Bujumbura remaining as economic capital and centre of commerce. A vote in the

Parliament of Burundi The Parliament of Burundi (Kirundi: '' Abashingamateka'') consists of two chambers: *The Senate (Upper Chamber) *The National Assembly (Lower Chamber)"Constitutional and Parliamentary Information, Issues 193-194" Association of Secretaries Gener ...

made the change official on 16 January 2019, with all branches of government expected to move in over three years.

Geography

Gitega is the capital of

Gitega Province Gitega is one of the 18 provinces of Burundi. Its capital is Gitega, which is also the national capital. It has a population of 725,223 as of 2008 and an area of . History After Burundi attained full independence on 1 July 1962, there was a mil ...

, one of the eighteen

provinces of Burundi Burundi is divided into eighteen provinces, each named after their respective Capital (political), capital with the exception of Bujumbura Rural. History The Belgian colonial administration created provinces in Burundi on September 26, 1960, t ...

. It is located in the center of the country, at roughly the same distance between the commercial capital, Bujumbura on

Lake Tanganyika Lake Tanganyika ( ; ) is an African Great Lakes, African Great Lake. It is the world's List of lakes by volume, second-largest freshwater lake by volume and the List of lakes by depth, second deepest, in both cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. ...

to the west, the

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

n border to the east—both at around —and the

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

n border, about to the north. It lies on a broad plateau surrounded by hills, a few kilometres southwest of the confluence of the Ruvyironza and

Rurubu River The Ruvubu River (also spelt Rurubu and Ruvuvu) is a river in central Africa whose waters gather from the most distant, southern portion of the Nile basin. With a total length of and has a drainage basin of . It rises in the north of Burundi, ne ...

s. Ruvubu National Park, the country's biggest, lies to the east.

Climate

History

Gitega was at one time the seat of the

and remained as capital of the

kings of Burundi Kings or King's may refer to: *Kings: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations. *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh'', an 11th-century epic Persia ...

(''mwami'') until 1966. The Germans laid out the plan for the modern town of Gitega in 1912 when Burundi was part of

German East Africa German East Africa (GEA; ) was a German colonial empire, German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Portugu ...

. In March 2007,

President of Burundi The president of Burundi, officially the President of the Republic (French language, French: ''Président de la République''), is the head of state and head of government of the Burundi, Republic of Burundi. The president is also commander-in-c ...

announced that Burundi was planning to bring back its capital city to Gitega, saying that it is in a better location for a capital than Bujumbura. On 24 December 2018, it was announced by Nkurunziza that Gitega was to become the capital city of Burundi, pending only Parliament approval. The expected parliamentary assent (given the President's CNDD-FFD party comfortable majority in both chambers) arrived through a vote on 16 January 2019, with some ministries already starting the move two days later. On 7 December 2021, a fire broke out in an overcrowded prison in Gitega, killing at least 38 and injuring more than 69.

Education

The Polytechnic University of Gitega was founded in 2014.

Culture

It is the home of Burundi's

National Museum of Gitega The National Museum of Gitega (, ) is the national museum of Burundi. It is located in Gitega and was founded under Belgian colonial rule in 1955. The museum is the largest of Burundi's public museums although its collection is displayed in a si ...

. Several ''

karyenda The ''karyenda'' is a traditional African drum. It was the main symbol of Burundi and its '' Mwami'' (King) and had semi-divine status. The ''Mwami'' was said to interpret the beatings of the karyenda into rules for the kingdom. History ...

'' royal drum

sanctuaries A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be ...

are located in the area, as well as the ''

ibwami A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word ''court'' may also be ap ...

'' (

royal court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word ''court'' may also be app ...

). On 29 April 1972,

Ntare V of Burundi Ntare V of Burundi (born Charles Ndizeye; 2 December 1947 – 29 April 1972), less commonly numbered Ntare III, was the last king (''mwami'') of Burundi, reigning from July to November 1966. Until his accession, he was known as Crown Prince Char ...

, the country's last ''

Mwami ''Mwami'' () is an honorific title common in parts of Central and East Africa. The title means ''chief'' or ''tribal chief'' in several Bantu languages. It was historically used by kings in several African nations, and is still used for traditi ...

'' (King), was killed in Gitega.

Places of worship

Places of worship A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is so ...

in Gitega are predominantly

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

churches and cathedrals, including:

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gitega The Archdiocese of Gitega the Metropolitan bishop, Metropolitan Episcopal See, See for the ecclesiastical province of Gitega in Burundi. History * 12 December 1912: Apostolic Vicariate of Kivu formed from parts of the Apostolic Vicariate of Uny ...

(

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

), Province of the Anglican Church of Burundi (

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...

), Union of Baptist Churches in Burundi (

Baptist World Alliance The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is an international communion of Baptists, with an estimated 51 million people from 266 member bodies in 134 countries and territories as of 2024. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA accounts f ...

), and

Assemblies of God The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...

. There are also

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

mosques.

Transportation

Gitega was served by Gitega Airport, which is now defunct. Gitega is served by four National Roads (''Routes Nationales'', RN): RN2 connects it with Bujumbura through the northwest, via

Muramvya Muramvya is a city located in central Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast A ...

and Bujumbura Rural provinces. RN15 leads to the north of country, towards Ngozi and continuing on to

, while passing through the ancient royal court of Gishora; RN12, which separates from RN15 on the outskirts of Gitega, heads northeast to serve the provinces of

Karuzi Karuzi, or Karusi, is a city located in eastern Burundi. It is the capital city of Karuzi Province. On 8 June 2020, Burundian president Pierre Nkurunziza died in Karuzi from cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arres ...

and

Muyinga Muyinga is a city located in northern Burundi. It is the capital city of Muyinga Province Muyinga Province is one of the 18 provinces of Burundi. Location Muyinga Province is in the northeast of Burundi, bordering Tanzania to the east and Rwan ...

. The last is RN3, which heads towards the southwest towards

Rumonge Rumonge is the capital of Rumonge Province, Burundi, and is located on the shores of Lake Tanganyika Lake Tanganyika ( ; ) is an African Great Lakes, African Great Lake. It is the world's List of lakes by volume, second-largest freshwater lake ...

and Lake Tanganyika.

Notes

References

External links

{{Authority control Gitega Province Populated places in Burundi Capitals in Africa Populated places established in 1912 1912 establishments in German East Africa