King Mwami Mwezi IV Gisabo Bikata-Bijoga (c. 1840–1908) was the last independent ruler of Burundi before its colonization by the German Empire.
[1] Mwezi was one of the younger sons of Ntare, he came to power under the regency of his older brother, and there was some question of his own parentage.
During the more than fifty-year reign of King Mwezi IV, a four-tiered system of administration emerged in order to help govern the country of Burundi more effectively.
The sources of power in Burundi had always been authority, human resources, skills and knowledge, intangible psychological and ideological factors, and material resources and sanctions,[4] and when legitimacy of a leader did not exist or was thrown into doubt, the result was political turmoil and social unrest.
[5] There were some Burundian figures that allied themselves with the German colonial empire in exchange for their help seizing King Mwezi.