Jean-Baptiste Habyalimana was a Rwandan academic and politician who served as the Prefect of Butare and was killed during the Rwandan genocide in 1994.
17 Facts About Jean-Baptiste Habyalimana
1.
2.
Jean-Baptiste Habyalimana was the only Tutsi prefect at the time of the genocide, and the only prefect belonging to the Liberal Party.
3.
Jean-Baptiste Habyalimana was born on 14 March 1950 in Runyinya Commune, Ruanda-Urundi.
4.
Jean-Baptiste Habyalimana completed his secondary studies at the Groupe Scolaire Officiel de Butare in 1969.
5.
Jean-Baptiste Habyalimana earned a degree in civil engineering from the National University of Rwanda in October 1975.
6.
Jean-Baptiste Habyalimana was appointed assistant professor for the university's sciences faculty.
7.
Jean-Baptiste Habyalimana defended his doctoral thesis in August 1989 and earned a Doctor of Philosophy in engineering.
8.
Jean-Baptiste Habyalimana was released without being charged on 25 March 1991.
9.
Jean-Baptiste Habyalimana joined five other teachers in protesting this treatment, and on 5 December 1992 the vice-rector awarded him his full salary following the rector's intervention.
10.
Jean-Baptiste Habyalimana was viewed favorably by the government as a skilled academic who cared little for ethnic and regional differences and could collaborate with Hutus and northerners.
11.
The PSD agreed to the suggestion, as they already controlled other offices in Butare and found Jean-Baptiste Habyalimana to be agreeable to them.
12.
Jean-Baptiste Habyalimana was appointed Prefect of Butare by presidential decree on 14 August 1992.
13.
Jean-Baptiste Habyalimana was able to maintain security in the prefecture for most regular people and commerce, in contrast to the situation in Kigali.
14.
Jean-Baptiste Habyalimana maintained good relations with many MRND politicians and had the respect of Major Cyriaque Habyarabatuma, the local commander of the gendarmerie.
15.
Jean-Baptiste Habyalimana met with the Prefect of Gikongoro to urge him to stop the violence in his jurisdiction and thus prevent further people from fleeing to Butare.
16.
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda later ruled that this was done by the interim government since it concluded that Jean-Baptiste Habyalimana would resist its desire to incite massacres of Tutsis.
17.
Jean-Baptiste Habyalimana was imprisoned in Butare and later taken to Gitarama under the pretext of meeting the interim government where he was probably executed.