Today is Prince Louis Rwagasore Day, a public holiday in Burundi. This holiday commemorates the life of one of Burundi’s national heroes, who was assassinated on this day in 1961.
Prince Louis Rwagasore was the son of King Mwambutsa IV. He was active in nationalist movements and campaigned for independence from Belgium. The Belgians had maintained a strong colonial rule by skillfully avoiding a unified Burundi nationalist movement by pitting the different ethnic groups against each other. Rwagasore diffused these tensions by organizing cooperatives and political parties that included members from all ethnic groups and my marrying outside his own ethnic group.
He antagonized the Belgian colonial administrators by creating power centers outside their control and because of his popularity among the people of Burundi. In the September 1961 elections before independence, he won 80% of the vote and became the first Prime Minister-elect.
He was gunned down in a hotel restaurant a few weeks later on October 13th 1961. Though his assassin was Greek, strong suspicions remain that his murder was sponsored by a pro-Belgian group.
Today is the birthday, in 1941, of Paul Simon, singer, songwriter, (1970 UK & US No.1 single with Simon and Garfunkel, ‘Bridge Over Trouble Water.’ The duo’s 1970 album ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ spent 307 weeks on the UK chart). Solo, (1986 UK No.4 single ‘You Can Call Me Al’, 1986 UK No.1 album Graceland spent 115 weeks on the UK chart). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fmf9ZJ_Yn0A
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