Pierre-Claver Nuwinkware (

Kirundi Kirundi, also known as Rundi, is a Bantu language spoken by some 9 million people in Burundi and adjacent parts of Rwanda, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, as well as in Kenya. It is the official language of Burundi. Kiru ...

: Petro Claveri Nuwinkware; died 1972) was a Burundian politician.

Early life

Pierre-Claver Nuwinkware was ethnically

Hutu The Hutu (), also known as the Abahutu, are a Bantu ethnic or social group which is native to the African Great Lakes region. They mainly live in Rwanda, Burundi and the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they form one of the prin ...

. He was educated in Catholic schools.

Political career

Nuwinkware was a member of the

Union for National Progress The Union for National Progress (french: Union pour le Progrès national, UPRONA) is a nationalist political party in Burundi. It initially emerged as a nationalist united front in opposition to Belgian colonial rule but subsequently became an i ...

(''Union pour le Progrès national''). In September 1961

Louis Rwagasore Louis Rwagasore ( rn, Ludoviko Rwagasore, italics=no; 10 January 1932 – 13 October 1961) was a Burundian prince and politician, who served as the second prime minister of Burundi for two weeks, from 28 September 1961 until his assassination on ...

became Prime Minister of Burundi and formed a government with Nuwinkware as Minister of Justice. Following Rwagasore's assassination,

André Muhirwa André Muhirwa (1920–2003) was a Burundian politician as a member of the Union for National Progress (''Union pour le Progrès national'', UPRONA) and the third Prime Minister of Burundi from 19 October 1961 to 7 June 1963. His term coincided ...

became Prime Minister. Politically, Muhirwa worked to prevent Hutus from gaining influence in government. Nevertheless, Nuwinkware remained a loyal member of his cabinet. He signed the promulgation order of the 1962 Constitution of the Kingdom of Burundi along with Mwami Mwambutsa IV and Muhirwa. Mwambutsa attempted to intervene in national politics to temper ethnic and political divides, but Nuwinkware resisted this, garnering the Mwami's ire. In late February 1963 Hutu political leader

Paul Mirerekano Paul Mirerekano (1921 – October 1965) was a Burundian politician. Ethnically Hutu, he worked as an agronomist for the Belgian colonial administration in Ruanda-Urundi before starting a successful market garden in Bugarama. Politically, he was ...

was arrested, but Nuwinkware ordered him released on 1 March. The Ministry of Justice also published a pamphlet in tribute to Rwagasore which he reportedly authored. Muhirwa's government collapsed later that year and in June

Pierre Ngendandumwe Pierre Ngendandumwe (1930 – 15 January 1965) was a Burundian politician. He was a member of the Union for National Progress and was an ethnic Hutu. On 18 June 1963, about a year after Burundi gained independence and amidst efforts to bring abou ...

formed a government with Nuwikware as Minister of Social Affairs. Ngendandumwe was dismissed in June 1964 and replaced by

Albin Nyamoya Albin Nyamoya (27 July 1924 – 2001) was the Prime Minister of Burundi from 6 April 1964 — 7 January 1965 and again from 14 July 1972— 5 June 1973. Nyamoya, an ethnic Tutsi from Ngozi province, was a member of the Union for National Progress ...

, who retained Nuwinkware in the same portfolio. In January 1965 Ngendandumwe formed a new government with Nuwinkware as Minister of Justice, but was shortly thereafter killed. His successor,

Joseph Bamina Joseph Bamina (15 March 1927 – 15 December 1965) was a Burundian politician and member of the Union for National Progress (French: Union pour le Progrès national) (UPRONA) party. Bamina was Prime Minister from 26 January to 30 September 196 ...

, retained Nuwinkware in the office. In 1965 Nuwinkware was co-opted into the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. Following a failed coup attempt by Hutu soldiers later that year, he was arrested by the government.

Later life

Nuwinkware was released from prison in April 1966 but briefly detained again in August. He then found employment at the Official University of Bujumbura, working as its administrative director. During the

Ikiza The Ikiza (variously translated from Kirundi as the Catastrophe, the Great Calamity, and the Scourge), or the Ubwicanyi (Killings), was a series of mass killings—often characterised as a genocide—which were committed in Burundi in 1972 by th ...

in May 1972 he was arrested by the government for alleged subversion and subsequently executed.

References

Works cited

* * * * {{cite book, last = Weinstein, first = Warren, title = Historical Dictionary of Burundi, publisher = Scarecrow Press, date = 1976, location = Metuchen, isbn = 978-0-8108-0962-8 Hutu people Justice ministers of Burundi Union for National Progress politicians People who died in the Ikiza 1972 deaths