According to oral history the Kingdom of Rwanda was founded in the 14th century after disintegration of Kitara empire on the shores of Lake Muhazi in the Buganza area, close to the modern city of Rwamagana.

[17] In the late 16th or early 17th centuries, the kingdom of Rwanda was invaded by the Banyoro and the kings forced to flee westward, leaving Buganza and the Lake Muhazi area in the hands of Bugesera and Gisaka.

[13][20] Under German and Belgian colonial rule Lake Muhazi became an important east–west transport route, linking Kigali and the west of the country with the north–south and eastbound roads from Gahini.

[22] This land was returned to Belgium in 1924 but the rulers allowed the CMS to continue its work, and a permanent mission and hospital was set up close to Lake Muhazi in Gahini village.

Large numbers of bodies were discarded in the lake by Interahamwe militias, while others drowned attempting to escape; witnesses described the water at the time as "mixed with blood.

[citation needed] Lake Muhazi, in common with the rest of Rwanda, has a temperate tropical highland climate, with lower temperatures than are typical for equatorial countries due to its high elevation.

These include African fish eagles (Haliaeetus vocifer), malachite kingfishers (Alcedo cristata),[3] pied kingfishers (Ceryle rudis), swamp flycatchers (Muscicapa aquatica), village weavers (Ploceus cucullatus), speckled mousebirds (Colius striatus), black-lored (Turdoides melanops) and arrow-marked (T. jardineii) babblers, African paradise-flycatchers (Terpsiphone viridis), scarlet-chested (Nectarinia senegalensis), bronze (N. kilimensis) and green-headed (N. verticalis) sunbirds, yellow-fronted canaries (Serinus mozambicus), green-winged pytilias (Pytilia melba), great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) and white-breasted (P. lucidus) cormorants, openbill (Anastomus lamelligerus) and yellow-billed (Mycteria ibis) storks and cattle egrets (Bubulcus ibis).

[35] The Muhazi lake shore at Gahini is popular with tourists and features two resorts: the Seeds of Peace centre, which offers accommodation, and Jambo Beach.

Rwanda housing authority (RHA) has recently completed the land control study and the elaboration of the town planning development project of the shores of lake Muhazi.

[40] The main objective of the study was to identify the sectors of the northern and eastern shores of lake Muhazi which are subjected to land pressure so as to establish protection belts and safeguard them.