Jean-Baptiste Ntidendereza (31 May 1926 – 15 January 1963) was a Burundian politician. A co-founder of the

Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...

, he served as Minister of Interior of Burundi in 1961. He was later convicted of conspiring to kill

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 ...

, a political opponent, and publicly executed.

Early life

Jean-Baptiste Ntidendereza was born on 31 May 1926 in Irabiro, Burundi. Ethnically, he was

Ganwa Ganwa is the name for the princely group that traditionally ruled Burundi. They formed a distinct social class that was neither Hutu nor Tutsi The Tutsi (), or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. They are a Bant ...

of the Batare clan, and was a son of Pierre Baranyanka, a paramount chief with close relations to the Belgian colonial administration in

Ruanda-Urundi Ruanda-Urundi (), later Rwanda-Burundi, was a colonial territory, once part of German East Africa, which was occupied by troops from the Belgian Congo during the East African campaign in World War I and was administered by Belgium under militar ...

. He was educated at the Groupe Scolaire d'Astrida, studying agriculture and administration.

Career

After completing his studies, Ntidendereza was made chief of Mutabo in 1943. From 1944 to 1960 he served as the chief of Bwambarangwe. In 1950 he accompanied

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 ...

Mwambutsa IV on his first trip to Europe. In 1954 he was made a member of the Supreme Land Council (''Conseil Supérieur du Pays'', CSP), an advisory body presided over by the Mwami with some responsibility over budgetary and administrative affairs. The CSP later went defunct and was supplanted on 22 February 1960 by the Provisional Commission, a body designed to study issues left unsolved by the CSP and work out immediate problems before national elections were held. Ntidendereza was placed on the commission. On 5 February 1960 Ntindereza co-founded the

(''Parti Démocratique Chrétien'', PDC). His brother,

Joseph Biroli Joseph Biroli-Baranyanka or Joseph Biroli (28 May 1929 – 15 January 1963) was a Burundian politician and was the first Burundian to receive a university education. Born in 1929 to a prominent chief, he was a Ganwa of the Batare clan. He perform ...

, subsequently became the party's president. The PDC's main rival was 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 Progres National'', UPRONA) led by Prince

, a Ganwa of the Bezi clan. The PDC, unlike UPRONA, rejected calls for immediate independence and instead focused its platform on socioeconomic reform. Despite ideological differences, the rivalries between the two parties were primarily fueled by the intra-nobility conflicts, as the Bezi and Batare lineages backed UPRONA and PDC respectively. The two lineages had long struggled for control of the country. One of Ntidendereza's other brothers, Charles Baranyanka, joined UPRONA and became a diplomat. The Belgian administration channeled financial aid to Ntidendereza and the PDC, particularly on the initiative of Assistant Resident Pierre DeFay. In November 1960 Urundi hosted communal elections. Rwagasore was placed under house arrest, hampering UPRONA's campaign, and the PDC emerged as the victor, winning 942 of 2,876 local offices. Ntidendereza's and DeFay's relationship later deteriorated, as Ntidendereza sought to loosen his connections to the administration and act independently of its wishes. In May 1961 Ntidendereza replaced Brioli as PDC president. The administration created an interim government led by Prime Minister

Joseph Cimpaye Joseph Cimpaye (1929May 1972) was a Burundian politician and writer. Born into an educated family from the Hutu ethnic group, Cimpaye was considered one of Burundi's leading intellectuals in the late colonial period. He became involved in pol ...

based on the communal election results to lead the country until elections for the national legislature were held. On 6 July the government was modified and Ntidendereza was made Minister of Interior. For the 1961 legislative elections, UPRONA concentrated its entire election campaign on Rwagasore, using his charisma to rally substantial support. The PDC had assumed a certain victory due to its success during the November 1960 municipal elections and began its election campaign late. To oppose UPRONA it formed a

cartel A cartel is a group of independent market participants who collude with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market. Cartels are usually associations in the same sphere of business, and thus an alliance of rivals. Mos ...

with other parties, termed the

Common Front In politics, a common front is an alliance between different groups, forces, or interests in pursuit of a common goal or in opposition to a common enemy. Other words that may be used are "alliance" or " coalition", though the term "common front" is ...

(''Front Commun''). The elections were held on 18 September 1961. With approximately 80% voter turnout, UPRONA won 58 of 64 seats in the Legislative Assembly, and Rwagasore was declared prime minister designate.

Death

On 13 October 1961 Rwagasore was assassinated by a Greek national. Within three days the police had arrested the Greek, Ioannis Kageorgis, and three Burundian accomplices: Antoine Nahimana, Henri Ntakiyica, and Jean-Baptiste Ntakiyica. The latter three were all members of the PDC. The group quickly admitted responsibility for the murder and incriminated three other persons in their plot: Michel Iatrou, Ntidendereza, and Biroli. The investigators concluded that Ntidendereza and Biroli planned the assassination. Iatrou denied this, while Ntidendereza initially implicated himself in the conspiracy before later recanting his testimony. On 30 June 1962, one day before Burundi's independence, Kageorgis was executed. Following independence Burundi established a

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

with retroactive competence, and on 27 October it ruled the previous trials to have violated the right to judgement by a jury established by the new constitution and ordered a retrial. On 27 November the lower court found Ntidendereza, Biroli, Nahimana, Iatrou, and Ntakiyica guilty and sentenced them to death. The defendants' final appeal to the Supreme Court was denied, as were the attempts of the Belgian government to convince the Mwami to offer clemency, and on 15 January 1963 all five were publicly hanged 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 (the second largest city) ...

stadium before thousands of people. With the PDC's loss in the legislative elections and the execution of Ntidendereza and Biroli, the party ceased to be a viable political force. Ntidendereza and his brother were buried in the Mushasha cemetery in Gitega.

References

Works cited

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