Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 28, 1994 TAG: 9410110066
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SETH WILLIAMSON SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Kigeli V of Rwanda looks every inch a king - and at 7-foot-2, that's a lot of inches.
The deposed ruler of the tiny, war-ravaged African nation made a low-profile visit to Christiansburg last week for medical care. The 58-year-old king was the guest of Father Harry Scott of St. Peter the Apostle Anglican Catholic Church and, along with his aide, got a physical exam from a medical doctor who is a parishioner of the church.
Kigeli, the 27th monarch in a dynasty he traces to the year 1081, now lives in Northern Virginia and devotes his time to helping what he estimates as 2.5 million Rwandan refugees scattered throughout central Africa.
Kigeli's family ruled territories of varying size in the region for more than nine centuries. Rwanda's current boundaries were created by European colonial powers.
He attributes his three-decade exile and the genocidal conflict in Rwanda between the Tutsi and Hutu tribes to the machinations of "the colonial power," namely Belgium. Kigeli's bloodline is Tutsi, though aide Boniface Bezinge said that Rwandan monarchs de-emphasize their tribal loyalties and consider themselves "the father of all the people."
Speaking through his aide and interpreter, Kigeli implied that the Belgians had something to do with the death of his older brother, Mutara III, in 1959.
"His death was very mysterious," the king said. "He was preparing to come to the [United Nations]. Understand that he was a big, healthy man, a boxer, he'd never known a sick day in his life. But he went to his own private doctor, a Belgian doctor, to be vaccinated prior to leaving the country, and he died on the spot. Very mysterious."
The death of Mutara meant that Kigeli was next in line for the throne. The Belgian colonial governors, however, wanted to see an end to the dynasty and resisted Kigeli's coronation. It was only the Rwandan custom that a new king had to be installed before the old one could be buried that forced the Belgians' hand, Kigeli said.
"They finally agreed that I should rule as a constitutional monarch," said the king, who ascended to the throne on July 27, 1959. But the Belgian governors continued to foment unrest, claims the king. When Kigeli left the country to consult with U.N. Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold in 1961, the Belgians banned his re-entry.
Since then he's led the hard life of an exile in various African nations, such as Burundi, Zaire, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Since coming to the United States two years ago, he has relied on government assistance and financial help from sympathetic Americans and now lives with the family of an Episcopal priest. His physical exam was conducted free of charge by Dr. Michael Slayton of Internal Medicine of Blacksburg.
Kigeli now heads the Rwandese Refugee Social Welfare Organization, which coordinates humanitarian initiatives on behalf of Rwandan exiles.
"They need so much help for schools and medical care, especially the orphans. The genocide has produced so very many orphans," the king said.
Kigeli says his dearest wish is to return to his native country. If his countrymen want him as monarch, he says, he's willing again to assume his duties as king. But before he returns, he wants a guarantee of safety from the government in power.
"He can't go back like this. He must be assured of his own security," said aide Bezinge. "After the current transitional government holds elections, and if the people want him, then he'll return."
"I don't want to impose myself as king. The Rwandese know who I am and where I am and I only want peace for Rwanda," said Kigeli.
"I want them to choose for themselves. I want freedom and peace for Rwanda. If they want me to come back as king, I will. If they want a republic, I'll come back as a Rwandese citizen. I don't want to be a dictator. I want Rwanda to be one example in Africa showing a true democracy. But it's up to the Rwandese to choose what they want. If they want me I'm ready to go."
Scott, who picked up Kigeli on Thursday afternoon and drove him back home Friday afternoon, says he met the king at Holyrood, the church's seminary in Liberty, N.Y.
"We've never had a king in the house before. It's an honor to have his majesty with us. He's a gentle and kind man," the priest said.
by CNB