[8] Within his domain, he was known as a somewhat despotic ruler, with the Belgians ceding him the authority to mediate legal disputes, collect taxes, recruit and manage forced labour, and represent the colonial administration.
"[10] Baranyanka preferred to act as a distant ruler, having instructions passed down to the populace through his subchiefs, though occasionally he hosted public meetings to issue work orders.
[11] An asthmatic, he often appeared in public holding a handkerchief to his face, though locals believed this was because he disliked the smell of common people.
[16] While some residents remained dissatisfied with his harsh methods, others reflected that his tenure brought peace to the area and his promotion of coffee led to some prosperity.
[18] Baranyanka's close collaboration with the Belgian administration and missionaries led him to serve as an "informant" on precolonial history and myths for writers such as Peter Schumacher.
[1][21] The Belgian administration sought to unify Burundi under the monarch's control, but also collaborated with Tare leaders to limit his authority.
[22] Resident Ryckmans and one of his successors, Robert Schmidt, both thought Baranyanka would make for a preferable and more reliable ruler of Burundi than Mwambutsa.
[23] In the 1950s the Belgians began introducing democratic reforms in Burundi,[19] while the sons of both Baranyanka and Mwambutsa had aged and begun taking an interest in public affairs.
[24] In 1959 Baranyanka openly questioned whether Mwambutsa's marriage to his first wife, Thérèse Kanyonga, was legitimate according to custom in an attempt to challenge his eldest son's place in the line to the throne.
Under the leadership of two of Baranyanka's sons, Joseph Biroli and Jean-Baptiste Ntidendereza, it advocated for internal autonomy and delayed independence.
[30] As the PDC and UPRONA campaigned, the antipathy between Rwagasore and Baranyanka grew; the former feared an assassination plot sponsored by the chief, while the latter wrote letters to the Mwami to condemn him for failing to control his son.
[31] UPRONA gained ground in Baranyanka's chiefdom, and he responded by angrily threatening to have Rwagasore's in-laws in Rukecu raped by Twas and soldiers and have hunts burnt down.
[37] The bourgmestres replaced chiefs and subchiefs and, though Baranyanka lost his official position, he still held influence through his sons' leadership of the PDC.
With approximately 80% voter turnout, UPRONA won 58 of 64 seats in the Legislative Assembly, and Rwagasore was declared prime minister designate.
[39] Some persons, including Rwagasore's successor, Prime Minister André Muhirwa, accused Baranyanka of having played a key role in the plot, but he was never charged.