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The 1973 Rwandan coup d'état, also known as the Coup d'état of 5 July (French: Coup d'état du 5 Juillet), was a military coup staged by Juvénal Habyarimana against incumbent president Grégoire Kayibanda in the Republic of Rwanda. The coup took place on 5 July 1973 and was bloodless.
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Background
While still under Belgian rule in the 1950s and early 1960s, resentment towards colonial rule and the ethnic Tutsi elite among the Hutu had increased, and led to the formation of the political party Parmehutu by Grégoire Kayibanda in 1957, with aims to overthrow the monarchy and gain full political control for the Hutus. This was achieved following the 1961 election and referendum, but the absence of effective Tutsi opposition led to regional tensions between Hutu politicians. The central and southern politicians had a privileged position within the party, government and administration, and were opposed by those from the under-represented north.
In the months prior to Habyarimana's coup, President Kayibanda had intensified persecution of ethnic Tutsi through the formation of Hutu vigilante committees to ensure enforcement of the required ethnic quotas. This policy had isolated Rwanda economically and diplomatically, especially from neighbouring Uganda which housed large numbers of Tutsi. Consequently, the 1973 coup was largely supported by the urban population and met with indifference amongst the rural communities.
Prior to the coup Habyarimana had been a General in the Rwandan army.
Aftermath
Immediately after seizing power Habyarimana outlawed all political parties but in 1974 created his own, the Mouvement Révolutionnaire National pour le Développement (MRND).
While the coup itself was bloodless, fifty-six people – mostly former leaders – were killed by the security services between 1974 and 1977, with Kayibanda dying in detention in 1976, probably of starvation.