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Urugez is a large wetland that is mostly made up of reeds and bulrushes, and now has trees planted by the authorities for maintenance purposes. These trees are planted to protect Urugez.
The Cultural Council has classified it as a historical site so that it can continue to be protected, and due to the presence of different species of worms, the place has been improved and is now a natural site.
In Rwandan history, Urugezi is famous for the rebellion of Basebia of Nirantwari against the rule of King Muzinga of Yushi V. It is said that Nirantwari, a girl from a powerful family, became pregnant and her family decided to bury her in Nkondo, a steep mountain in Urugezi.
Nkondo is a large rock that is said to be where pregnant women were buried.
When Nilantwari became pregnant, he was given to slaves to go to Nkondo to kill him. The nobles brought him and when they reached Rutangiri outside Urugezi, they found other nobles who were also their companions.
Those who found them told them that Nkondo was far away before they arrived that night and they had better sleep in. In the morning, the elders living in Rutangiri, led by Kiloha, told the others: “Go back and pay the money, we will marry the girl”.
Those who came to visit Nirantwari returned home and Kiloha decided to marry Nirantwari. Bastya was born from Nirantwari’s womb and it is said that no other children were born after him.
This is what the Batwa of Rutangiri did and it is not unique to them as there are other examples of Batwa in the country helping people who were sentenced to death. Another example we can give is the killing of Kirongoro, the mother of Cyirima II Rujugira by the Busyete and hiding her in Bembogo (Kagame 1972:130).
They laughed at him because he grew up in the Atewa family and was taller and fatter than them, which made them respect him. He learned to hunt, hunt and sight targets, but as he grew up, he was told that his mother Nilan Tewari was going to be killed, making him grow up to be a victim! He then formed a military unit called “Ibijabra”, which was mainly composed of the exiled youths.
In his text, Alexis Kagame (1975:140) states that the name “Ibijabra” may have come from the fact that they lived in the Urugezi swamps.
After the Rukunshu War, during the reign of King Yuri V Muzinga, Basebia and Ibijabura caused unrest throughout the northern region, especially in the areas of Buberuka, Kibali, Bukonya, etc. near Urugezi. They requested the king to accept tribute from these areas as well as Ndorwa and Bufumbira, but were refused.
The Ibijaburas usually number over 60 and they are responsible for night cover, burning, killing and looting. These Bijaburas are followed by a group of other ordinary villagers who also want to take advantage of them. The most famous names among the Bijaburas we mentioned are Mahingura, Karabamu, Ndarihoranye, etc.
They laughed at him, but he was careful not to go near the King Chief’s residence or the Bugalula area, where white missionaries had established themselves in Rwaza.
The kingdom decided to attack him but as they knew his army was small, they believed that the Indengabaganzi group that was being formed would be the ones to come to their aid. This force was given to Ruhararamanzi, the chief of Buberuka, as its leader.
These forces would be supported by regional forces led by Biganda and Gashamulla. There was a camp in 1909. When the war began, Basabiya’s forces initially held their ground but were forced to retreat and flee to Kigezi (now in Uganda).
Indengabaganizi was the last traditional army established in Rwanda during the reign of King Yussi V Muzinga.
Meanwhile, Bila Singh, who called himself Ndungutse, came to the northern region. Ndungutse lived in Rutangiri, part of Uregezi.
At that time, it was reported that Muserekande was known as Muhumuza or Nyiragahumuza and he had two sons, Biregeya born to Kigeri IV Rwabugiri and Ndungutse born to Mibambwe IV Rutarinda. So, Bilasinge wanted to fake what was said and he called himself Ndongutse, son of Rutarinda and joined the Basebiya who were plundering and attacking those who supported King Yuhi V Musinga in the northern part of the country.
At this time, Lieutenant Gudovius, the Rwandan who created Mr. Razima, came to ask the king to send troops to help him to quell the unrest in the north. The king gave him the head of Iziruguru led by Lubusisi, the son of Zigenza.
But instead of going on the offensive, they decided, following the instructions of Mr. Razima, to set an example at Brenga, near Sayo. That was in 1911. The example was postponed until 1912 so that Arab merchants could start commercial activities.
The reason was that Mr. Razima wanted to launch an attack on the Basebiyas of Nyilantwari, the Ndontus of Bilarisenge and the Rukala of Bixingwe who rebelled in Mulala and after killing Padiri Lupias, a Rwandan who was building Rugigana.
The attack on Ndongutese was defeated at Rugezi on April 13, 1912. At that time, the North attacked Ndongutese and the troops of Basebiya, who also lived near Rugezi, were overwhelmed by the continuous symphony of bullets nearby and decided to attack them. Basebiya was later captured by Rubusi, who immediately tried and shot Kagwi, who is now in the Gakenke district near Mount Kabuye.
Basebia had injured many people in the Kibali and Buberuka areas, so those who gathered to hear his case immediately cut his body into parts to show the family that Basebia was indeed dead.
That was May 15, 1912 (Kagame 1975: 169).
After the death of Basebia and Ndongutse, the area including Urugezi became quiet, offerings were regrouped, and Urugezi was left as an area for making wishes. Hunters hunted wild boars and also wild boars.
There was also an agricultural area where people grew beans, peas, potatoes and corn. People used to go to Rugze to find locks and ropes for boats, and they even built up this swamp with bricks.
After this death, the residents of Rutangiri continued to show contempt. Even his palace had been destroyed in recent years because Rwanyanza had abandoned him. Rwanyanza was the son of Birahamye; we saw above that Birahamye of Kiloha married Nyirantwari, the mother of Basebya.
Currently, Basebia is said to live in the Rere area of Bukonko subdistrict in Ngoma village. It is a mountain surrounded by a river and surrounded by a pine forest. It is not easy to reach the forest because it requires a long walk.
It takes about forty-five minutes to walk down the hill from the Rukonko cell building and over the sluice gate to the stream called Rutangiri, which is said to be the starting point for those who wanted to attack Basebia. Other famous areas of the river include Ruhindamyambi, where Basebia hid his weapons.
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