Rwanda and Congo — civil war and Mobutu
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Flip to reveal answersWhat sparked Rwanda's civil war in October 1990?
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Question
What sparked Rwanda's civil war in October 1990?
Answer
The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), an army of mostly Tutsi exiles based in Uganda, invaded Rwanda demanding the right of return and an end to one-party Hutu rule.
Question
Define: Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF)
Answer
A rebel/political movement formed largely by Tutsi exiles (many raised in Uganda) that invaded Rwanda in 1990 and later took power in 1994.
Question
What economic pressures fed Rwanda's crisis before 1990?
Answer
Rapid population growth splitting land into tiny plots, collapsing coffee export prices in the late 1980s, soil exhaustion, and 1990 IMF-backed austerity that devalued the currency.
Question
What did the Arusha Accords (August 1993) agree to?
Answer
A power-sharing transitional government including the RPF, merger of the two armies, and the return of Tutsi refugees, overseen by the UN force UNAMIR.
Question
What happened on 6 April 1994?
Answer
President Juvénal Habyarimana's plane was shot down over Kigali, killing him; planned massacres of Tutsi began within hours, starting the genocide.
Question
Who is blamed for shooting down Habyarimana's plane, and why is it debated?
Answer
Both Hutu extremists (motive: sabotage Arusha, keep power) and the RPF (motive: end power-sharing, win militarily) are blamed; no side has been proven beyond doubt — a key Paper-3 perspectives debate.
Question
What was the Congo Crisis (1960–1965)?
Answer
The chaos following Belgian Congo's 1960 independence: an army mutiny, Katanga's secession under Tshombe, Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba's murder (1961), UN intervention, ending with Mobutu's 1965 coup.
Question
Order the Congo Crisis: mutiny, Lumumba's murder, Katanga secession, Mobutu's coup.
Answer
1) Army mutiny (July 1960) → 2) Katanga secession → 3) Lumumba's murder (Jan 1961) → 4) Mobutu's coup (1965).
Question
How did Mobutu build a cult of personality in Zaire?
Answer
Renamed the country Zaire (1971) and himself Mobutu Sese Seko, made the MPR the only legal party (1967), banned Western suits for the 'abacost', and required his image and slogans everywhere as part of the 'authenticité' campaign.
Question
Define: kleptocracy
Answer
A government where rulers use their power mainly to steal public wealth for themselves — used to describe Mobutu's Zaire.
Question
How did Mobutu maintain power and eliminate opposition?
Answer
Through a one-party state (MPR), exile/imprisonment/execution of rivals, and patronage networks that bought loyalty from elites and the army rather than earning genuine popular support.
Question
Why was Zaire vulnerable to the First Congo War (1996–1997)?
Answer
Decades of plundered wealth, unpaid soldiers, hyperinflation and collapsed public services left Mobutu's state hollow, unable to resist the Kabila/Rwanda-backed rebellion that overthrew him.
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Topic 10.7 hub
Colonialism and crisis in Rwanda and the Congo (c.1875-2003)
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