Landoald 'Lando' Ndasingwa (died 7 April 1994) was a

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 politician and businessman. He was killed on the first day of the

Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the Tutsi, occurred from 7 April to 19 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. Over a span of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Gre ...

Life

Ndasingwa founded the hotel

Chez Lando Chez Lando is a hotel and restaurant located in the Rwandan capital city, Kigali. The hotel was founded in the 1980s by prominent Rwandan businessman and politician Lando Ndasingwa, and his Canadian wife Hélène, who were both killed in the 199 ...

in the 1980s with his Canadian wife Hélène. Following Ndasingwa's death, the hotel was taken over by his sister

Anne-Marie Kantengwa Anne-Marie Kantengwa was born in 1953 in Jabana, near Kigali, Rwanda. She is a businesswoman and a former Rwandan Patriotic Front (FPR) deputy in the Parliament of Rwanda. Early life Anne Marie Kantengwa is a Rwandan genocide The Rwan ...

. Educated at the Collège Saint-André of Kigali, the Université Nationale du Rwanda at Butare,

Université Laval (; English: ''Laval University)'' is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university traces its roots to the Séminaire de Québec, founded by François de Montmorency-Laval in 1663, making it the oldest institutio ...

at Quebec City,

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

, and

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...

, Ndasingwa was a former professor at the Université Nationale du Rwanda and ethnic

Tutsi The Tutsi ( ), also called Watusi, Watutsi or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. They are a Bantu languages, Bantu-speaking ethnic group and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi ( ...

. As a politician, he was the leader and vice president of the moderate

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

and was granted the portfolio of Minister of Labour and Social Affairs in the Habyarimana transitional government put in place after the

Arusha Accords Arusha Accords refers to two separate political agreements, negotiated in Arusha Arusha is a city in Tanzania. The city is the Capital city, capital of the Arusha Region. It has a population of 617,631 people.

. He was the only Tutsi member of the transitional government. On February 17, 1994,

UNAMIR The United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) was established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 872 on 5 October 1993. It was intended to assist in the implementation of the Arusha Accords, signed on 4 August 1993, w ...

commander

Roméo Dallaire Roméo Antonius Dallaire (born June 25, 1946) is a retired Canadian politician and military officer who was a senator from Quebec from 2005 to 2014, and a lieutenant-general in the Canadian Armed Forces. He notably was the force commander of U ...

received information of a plot to assassinate Ndasingwa and

Joseph Kavaruganda Joseph Kavaruganda (8 May 1935 – 7 April 1994) was a Rwandan jurist who served as president of Rwanda's Constitutional Court. He was killed at the beginning of the Rwandan genocide. Early life Joseph Kavaruganda was born on 8 May 1935 in Tar ...

, both prominent political moderates. In his book '' Shake Hands with the Devil'', Dallaire claims that he informed them of this plot, and neither were surprised. As an outspoken and well-known public figure, Ndasingwa was the frequent target of attacks on propaganda radio station RTLM.

Death

On April 7, 1994 , Ndasingwa and his

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

wife, Hélène Pinski, both graduates of the

, were abducted from their house along with their two children, Malaika (age 17) and Patrick (age 15), and Ndasingwa's mother by the government's Presidential Guard, despite being under UNAMIR protection. All were subsequently killed the same day as the

assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira On the evening of 6 April 1994, the aircraft carrying Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira, both Hutu, was shot down with surface-to-air missiles as their jet prepared to land in Kigali, Rwanda; ...

. During his final moments, he and his family requested UNAMIR troops for protection as the presidential guard assaulted their home, his final words being "It's too late." One of his sisters,

Louise Mushikiwabo Louise Mushikiwabo (born May 22, 1961) is the fourth and current Secretary General of the ''Organisation internationale de la Francophonie''. She previously served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Rwanda from 2009 to 2018. S ...

, became much later (December 2009) Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation in

Paul Kagame Paul Kagame ( ; born 23 October 1957) is a Rwandan politician and former military officer who has been the President of Rwanda since 2000. He was previously a commander of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a rebel armed force which invaded ...

's government, and, then (October, 2018), Secretary General of the

Organisation internationale de la Francophonie The (OIF; sometimes shortened to ''La Francophonie'', , sometimes also called International Organisation of in English) is an international organization representing where there is a notable affiliation with French language and culture. ...

.Mushikiwabo's Autobiography on the site crimesofwar.org

References

External links

1994 deaths Year of birth missing People who died in the Rwandan genocide Rwandan murder victims Foreign ministers of Rwanda Labour ministers of Rwanda Social affairs ministers of Rwanda Tutsi people Liberal Party (Rwanda) politicians {{Rwanda-politician-stub