An ethnic Hutu, he was a pioneer of the Rwandan Revolution and led Rwanda's struggle for independence from Belgium, replacing the Tutsi monarchy with a republican form of government.

Rwanda became independent from Belgium in 1962, with Kayibanda serving as the country's first president, establishing a pro-Hutu policy and a de facto one-party system governed by his party, Parmehutu.

The United Nations mandates, the Tutsi elite class, and the Belgian colonists contributed to the growing social and political unrest.

Kayibanda spoke at ceremonies later that day to commemorate the occasion, thanking the people who had contributed to the country's independence.

The 1962 constitution of Rwanda, enacted by Kayibanda's regime, proscribed communist activities and propaganda as Belgian settlers conditioned the gain of independence to the rejection of Communism, in the era of the iron curtain.

With North-South regionalist rivalries, President Kayibanda's regime was accused of having progressively dismissed the political leaders of the north and of concentrating power in the hands of the nationals of his native prefecture, Gitarama.

Although described as bloodless, as a result of the coup, an estimated 55 people, mostly officials, lawyers or businessmen close to the previous regime, were reportedly executed.

The new government held Kayibanda and his wife in a secret location (rumored to be a house near Kabgayi), where they were reportedly "starved to death".