Rubengera is a community in Rwanda, part of the Mabanza commune. It is the capital of Karongi District in Western Province, Rwanda. Rubengera lies in the western mountains of Rwanda between

Lake Kivu Lake Kivu is one of the African Great Lakes. It lies on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, and is in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift. Lake Kivu empties into the Ruzizi River, whic ...

and the divide that separates the catchments of the

Congo River The Congo River ( kg, Nzâdi Kôngo, french: Fleuve Congo, pt, Rio Congo), formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge ...

to the west and the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest ...

. Around 1880 King Kigeli Rwabugiri created a new royal residence at Rubengera on his return from a military expedition to today's

North Kivu North Kivu (french: link=no, Nord-Kivu) is a province bordering Lake Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Goma. North Kivu borders the provinces of Ituri to the north, Tshopo to the northwest, Maniema to the s ...

. It was innovative in its much grander scale than previous residences. Despite its remote location, members of the

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

aristocracy were drawn to the new court. The court included granaries in which food was stored, in part to feed the members of the court, but in part to support a supply of relief food to the poor of the region, particularly before the next harvest. A Protestant mission was established at Rubengera in 1909. In World War I was Rubengera a German prisoner-of-war camp for captured Belgian soldiers, military hospital for German soldiers and headquarters of the Commander in Chief of the German troops in Rwanda, Max Wintgens.Innocent Kabagema. ''Ruanda unter deutscher Kolonialherrschaft 1899-1916''. Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Europäischer Verlag der Wissenschaften. 1993, p. 298 In 1938 a track was opened that connected Rubengera to

Kabgayi Kabgayi is just south of Gitarama in Muhanga District, Southern Province, Rwanda, southwest of Kigali. It was established as a Catholic Church mission in 1905. It became the center for the Roman Catholic Church in Rwanda and is the site of t ...

to the east. This is the basis for the main road that today connects the region to the east. During the

Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed H ...

, on 9 April 1994 militiamen from

Rutsiro Rutsiro is a district (''akarere'') in Western Province, Rwanda. Its headquarter is located in Gihango sector. About Rutsiro Rutsiro District is one of the seven Districts making up the Western Province , located 150 km the capital Kigali. I ...

attacked the Tutsis in Mabanza. On 12 April, two hundred refugees from the presbytery were evacuated by bus to the Gatwaro Football Stadium in Kibuye, where most of them were killed. Just over ten percent of the Tutsis in Rubengera survived the massacre. In July 2012 it was announced that the Rubengera Technical Secondary School would open in January 2013, giving training in carpentry and wood technology. The private school was launched by the Protestant "Abaja ba Kristo" sisterhood.

Notable people

* Consolee Nishimwe - author, speaker, and survivor of the Rwandan genocide

References

Citations Sources * * * * * * {{refend Western Province, Rwanda Populated places in Rwanda