The thin veneer of Rwandan administrative occupation is again evident from the events following Rwabugiri’s death, about a decade after the death of Nkundiye. Rwabugiri died in a canoe off Nyamisi, one of the islands near the western shore of Ijwi. The explanation given on Ijwi is that he carried with him a whistle (ngisha) with very strong magical properties. The Bany’Iju rowers in the canoe suggested that he blow the whistle against anyone in the boat who did not row with sufficient energy. Because Rwabugiri was the only one in the canoe who was not rowing, it was he who became the victim of his own magic. Other informants add that he suffered from dysentery at the time. The Bany’Iju deposited the body with the Rwandans at the royal residence at Nyamasheke (near Nyamirundi); they then returned to Ijwi to inform the population and to send a delegation immediately to find their own king, Ndogosa, then still in Bushi.

Ndogosa returned and was immediately enthroned. Thereafter he conducted a campaign of reconciliation and rapprochement with the Rwandans. He returned the wife of Rwabugiri and the royal bull, Fizi, to Rwanda with a royal escort, so that they would not only return safely but in a manner befitting their status. This action earned him the respect of the Rwandans, report the Bany’Iju, who thenceforth treated Ndogosa with the honor due to a king. Meanwhile, the Rwandan overlords on the island at the time of Rwabugiri’s death were allowed to return to Rwanda.

Otherwise, there is no memory on Ijwi of dislocations or other major changes effected by the return of Ndogosa. There is no reference to general recriminations against the Rwandans, just as there is no reference on Ijwi to resistance to Rwandan rule after Rwabugiri’s conquest. There seems little antagonism held either against the Rwandan king or against Rwandans who chose to stay on the island after the death of Rwabugiri. Ndogosa cooperated closely with Musinga on occasion for common objectives; several Rwandans who stayed were not only given land but also served Ndogosa as herdsmen for his personal herds. The positions held by the Rwandan chiefs were assumed once again by members of the royal family and friends of Ndogosa. Ndogosa appears to have had an initially untroubled reign, until, he too faced his own succession dispute, and until he met with a series of unprecedented misfortunes to the kingdom that accompanied the arrival of the Europeans in the Kivu area and on Ijwi.

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https://uk.amateka.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Rwabugiri.pnghttps://uk.amateka.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Rwabugiri-150x150.pngBarataHistory of kingsSocial & cultureThe thin veneer of Rwandan administrative occupation is again evident from the events following Rwabugiri’s death, about a decade after the death of Nkundiye. Rwabugiri died in a canoe off Nyamisi, one of the islands near the western shore of Ijwi. The explanation given on Ijwi is that he...AMATEKA