Ntare V
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Ntare V of Burundi (born Charles Ndizeye; 2 December 1947 – 29 April 1972), less commonly numbered Ntare III, was the last
king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
(''
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 ...
'') of
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 ...
, reigning from July to November 1966. Until his accession, he was known as Crown Prince Charles Ndizeye. He seized power in July 1966 by deposing his own father. He reigned until November, when prime minister
Michel Micombero Michel Micombero (26 August 194016 July 1983) was a Burundian military officer and politician who ruled the country as ''de facto'' military dictator for the decade between 1966 and 1976. He was the last Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Burundi ...
overthrew him, ending the Burundian monarchy. He went into exile but returned in 1972, only to be swiftly arrested by the republican government. Later that year, during a period of mass violence called the "
Ikiza The (variously translated from Kirundi as the Catastrophe, the Great Calamity, and the Scourge), or the (Killings), was a series of mass killings—often characterised as a genocide—which were committed in Burundi in 1972 by the Tutsi-domina ...
", he was killed under unclear circumstances.


Early life

Charles Ndizeye was the son of King Mwambutsa IV (1912–1977) and Queen Baramparaye Ruhasha (1929–2007). He had one half-brother (Prince
Louis Rwagasore Prince Louis Rwagasore (; 10 January 1932 – 13 October 1961) was a Burundian prince and politician, who was the second prime minister of Burundi for two weeks, from 28 September 1961 until his assassination on 13 October. Born to the Ganwa f ...
, assassinated 1961 whilst
prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
), and two half-sisters: Princess
Rosa Paula Iribagiza Rosa Paula Iribagiza Mwambutsa (born 20 March 1934) is the current pretender to the throne of Kingdom of Burundi, Burundi. She was a sister of Burundi's last king, King of Burundi, Mwami Ntare V of Burundi, Ntare V (who had overthrown their fath ...
(born 1934) and Princess Regina Kanyange (died 1987). Ndizeye was educated at
Institut Le Rosey Institut Le Rosey (), commonly referred to as Le Rosey or simply Rosey, is a private school, private boarding school in Rolle, Switzerland. It was founded in 1880 by Paul-Émile Carnal on the site of the 14th-century Château du Rosey in the tow ...
in Switzerland.


Ascension and rule

After a Hutu-led coup attempt in October 1965, Mwambutsa IV went into exile in
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
, while Prime Minister
Léopold Biha Léopold Bihumugani (1919–2003), better known as Léopold Biha, was a Burundian politician who served as Prime Minister of Burundi from 13 September 1965 until 8 July 1966. An ethnic Ganwa born to a chief in Ruanda-Urundi, he became a close con ...
was hospitalized. Though the monarch attempted to rule from abroad, this effectively left Burundi without a state head. The country was also heavily affected by the coup's aftermath, as Tutsi officers under Michel Micombero purged the security forces and political leadership of Hutu figures. In March 1966, Mwambusta IV designated Charles Ndizeye, his only surviving son, as
heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...
and entrusted him with overseeing Burundi's government. The Crown Prince then formally deposed his father and his father's government in July 1966. On 8 July, Ndizeye declared the dismissal of Prime Minister Biha and the suspension of the constitution. The following day he asked Micombero to form a government. On 12 July Micombero presented his government to the prince with himself as Prime Minister and Minister of Defence. Ndizeye was formally crowned as ''mwami'' on 3 September, taking the regnal name Ntare V. The cooperation between Ntare V and Micombero was short-lived. Tensions between the soldiers in the government and the monarchy emerged in August and led to a reshuffling of the cabinet in September. On 7 November Ntare V attempted to broadcast a decree dismissing Micombero's government, but was turned away from the radio station by soldiers. Three weeks later, Ntare V was in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...
on a
state visit A state visit is a formal visit by the head of state, head of a sovereign state, sovereign country (or Governor-general, representative of the head of a sovereign country) to another sovereign country, at the invitation of the head of state (or ...
, celebrating the
takeover In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are publicly listed, in contrast to the acquisi ...
of
Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga ( ; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997), often shortened to Mobutu Sese Seko or Mobutu and also known by his initials MSS, was a Congolese politician and military officer ...
. On 28 November, the king heard over radio that Micombero had led a
military coup d'état A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...
, abolishing the monarchy and proclaiming Burundi a
republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...
with himself as its first
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
. Overall, Ntare V had the shortest rule of any Burundian ''mwami''. Ntare V went into exile in
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
and later
Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
. Meanwhile, Micombero's regime had to contend with various forms of resistance and conducted a series of purges. As time went on, the government's support base became increasingly narrow, and it marginalized not just Hutu but also certain Tutsi sub-groups like the Banyaruguru. In 1971, a group of Tutsi figures were arrested over an alleged plot to restore the monarchy.


Execution

Ntare V returned to Burundi in March 1972. Ugandan President
Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 30 May 192816 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 until Uganda–Tanzania War, his overthrow in 1979. He ruled as a Military dictatorship, ...
claimed he received a written guarantee from President Micombero that Ntare could return to Burundi and live there as a private citizen. Using the helicopter at his disposal from Amin, Ntare arrived. Within a few hours he was put under house arrest in the former palace in
Gitega Gitega (), formerly Kitega, is the political capital of Burundi. Located in the centre of the country, in the Burundian central plateau roughly east of Bujumbura, the largest city and former political capital, Gitega is the country's fourth la ...
. Soon after, an official radio broadcast proclaimed that Ntare was trying to instigate a
mercenary A mercenary is a private individual who joins an armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rather t ...
invasion of Burundi to take back rule. Whether the former monarch had really intended to peacefully return or actually plotted a takeover, as Micombero's government alleged, remains unclear. Some ministers favored keeping him under restricted protection in Gitega, while others wanted him dead. As the government discussed its next moves, Ntare remained under house arrest in Gitega. On 29 April, Hutu rebels began an uprising against the Burundian government. Around the same time, Micombero dismissed his entire cabinet. At the evening of the same day, Ntare was assassinated by Burundian soldiers under circumstances which remain unclear. Whether there was a conspiracy or his death involved a spontaneous outbreak of violence in Gitega has not been determined. Researcher Nigel Watt argued that Ntare's murder was motivated by the Burundian government's fear that monarchists might support the Hutu rebellion; by the time of his death, the former ''mwami'' was seen as a champion of the interests of both Hutu as well as Tutsi-Banyaruguru marginalized by Micombero. Radio Nationale du Burundi (RNB Broadcasting) announced that the king was shot while attempting to escape from the palace where he had been "under arrest". The king's supporters claim he was taken from the Royal Palace and executed by a firing squad before being thrown into a common grave. The king was 24 years old. Meanwhile, the Hutu uprising was quelled by Micombero's forces. Between 80,000 and 210,000 people died in the ensuing
mass killings Mass killing is a concept which has been proposed by genocide scholars who wish to define incidents of non-combat killing which are perpetrated by a government or a state. A mass killing is commonly defined as the killing of group members without ...
.White, Matthew
Death Tolls for the Major Wars and Atrocities of the Twentieth Century: C. Burundi (1972-73, primarily Hutu killed by Tutsi) 120,000
/ref>International Commission of Inquiry for Burundi (2002). Paragraph 85. "The Micombero regime responded with a genocidal repression that is estimated to have caused over a hundred thousand victims and forced several hundred thousand Hutus into exile"


Distinctions


National orders

* Grand Master of the Royal Order of Prince Louis Rwagasore. * Grand Master of the Royal Order of Rukinzo (Royal Male Drum). * Grand Master of the Royal Order of Karyenda (Royal Female Drum). * Grand Master of the Military Order of Karyenda (Royal Female Drum).


Foreign honour

* : Grand Cross of the Order of the Leopard


Ancestry


References


Works cited

* * *


External links


Monarchiste
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ntare 05 Of Burundi 1947 births 1972 deaths People from Gitega Kings of Burundi Leaders who took power by coup Leaders ousted by a coup Assassinated Burundian politicians Deaths by firearm in Burundi People murdered in Burundi People who died in the Ikiza African politicians assassinated in the 1970s Politicians assassinated in 1972 20th-century murdered monarchs Assassinated Burundian people Alumni of Institut Le Rosey