Félicien Gatabazi (died 21 February 1994) was a Rwandan politician who was killed in the lead-up to the

Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the Tutsi, occurred from 7 April to 19 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. Over a span of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Gre ...

. At the time of his death he was secretary general of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

and served as Minister of Public Works and Energy.

Career

Gatabazi had served in the government of President

Juvénal Habyarimana Juvénal Habyarimana (; ; 8 March 19376 April 1994) was a Rwandan politician and military officer who was the second president of Rwanda, from 1973 until Assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira, his assassination in 1994. H ...

in the 1970s and he was dismissed in a cabinet reshuffle on 8 January 1984. In 1992, Gatabazi's Social Democratic Party entered government and Gatabazi became minister in the cabinet of

Dismas Nsengiyaremye Dismas Nsengiyaremye (born 1945) served as Prime Minister of Rwanda from 2 April 1992 to 18 July 1993. A native of Gitarama, he was a member of the Republican Democratic Movement and was appointed prime minister following an agreement between Pr ...

. Gatabazi was perceived to be a moderate

Hutu The Hutu (), also known as the Abahutu, are a Bantu ethnic group native to the African Great Lakes region. They mainly live in Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda where they form one of the principal ethnic groups alongside the Tutsi and the Great L ...

Death

After returning home from a political meeting Gatabazi was shot and killed in

Kigali Kigali () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali is a relativ ...

. Shortly after Gatabazi's death an angry crowd killed Martin Bucyana, president of the

Coalition for the Defence of the Republic The Coalition for the Defence of the Republic (, CDR) was a Rwandan far-right Hutu Power political party that took a major role in inciting the Rwandan genocide. History The CDR was founded in 1992 and initially led by Martin Bucyana until his a ...

, in

Butare Butare (), also known as Huye and formerly known as Astrida, is a city with a population of 62,823 (2022 census) in the Southern Province of Rwanda and the capital of Huye district. It is the seventh largest town in Rwanda by population. Histo ...

, hometown of Gatabazi.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gatabazi, Felicien 20th-century births 1994 deaths Year of birth missing Assassinations in Rwanda Deaths by firearm in Rwanda Energy ministers of Rwanda Public works ministers of Rwanda Social Democratic Party (Rwanda) politicians 1990s murders in Rwanda 1994 crimes in Rwanda 1994 murders in Africa