[8][9] Rudahigwa became king on 16 November 1931, the Belgian colonial administration having deposed his father, Yuhi V Musinga, four days earlier[10] for alleged contact with German agents.

[3] His father had refused to convert to Christianity: the Rwandan Catholic Church saw him as anti-Christian, an impediment to their civilising mission.

[12] During Rudahigwa's reign there was a marked stratification of ethnic identity within Ruanda-Urundi, the Belgian-ruled mandate of which Rwanda formed the northern part.

[18] Although in 1954, Rudhahigwa abolished the ubuhake system of indentured service that exploited Hutus,[19] this had little real practical effect.

[24] On 24 July 1959, Rudahigwa arrived in Usumbura (now Bujumbura), Urundi, for a meeting with Belgian colonial authorities arranged by Father André Perraudin.

[27] Rumours that he had been deliberately killed by the Belgian authorities were rife, and tensions rose: ordinary Rwandans gathered along routes and stoned Europeans' cars.

Rudahigwa was succeeded by his half-brother, Jean-Baptiste Ndahindurwa, as Kigeli V.[19] Mutara married Nyiramakomali on 15 October 1933 and they divorced in 1941.

He spoke excellent French and professed loyalty to Belgium and indifference to the United Nations trusteeship of that period.