Joseph Cimpaye

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Joseph Cimpaye
1st Prime Minister of Burundi
In office
26 January 1961 – 28 September 1961
MonarchMwambutsa IV
GovernorJean-Paul Harroy
Succeeded byLouis Rwagasore
Personal details
Born1929 (1929)
, Gitega Province, Ruanda-Urundi
(modern-day Burundi)
Diedc.May 1972 (aged 42–43)
Burundi
Political partyPDC (to 1961)
Known forAuthor of first Burundian novel

Joseph Cimpaye (1932 – c.1972) was a Burundian politician and writer.

Born into an educated family from the Hutu ethnic group, Cimpaye was considered one of Burundi's leading intellectuals in the late colonial period. He became involved in politics under Belgian colonial rule within the minor Christian Democratic Party (Parti démocratique chrétien, PDC) which was opposed by the more popular anti-colonial Union for National Progress (Union pour le Progres national, UPRONA). Cimpaye briefly held the position of prime minister in 1961 before UPRONA was decisively returned in the country's first elections ahead of Burundi's independence in July 1962. Although retiring from politics, he was later arrested under the regime of Michel Micombero in 1969.

While imprisoned, he wrote L'Homme de ma colline which has been acclaimed as the first Burundian novel but which remained unpublished in his lifetime. He was among a number of influential Hutus killed in the genocidal violence of 1972 instigated by the Micombero regime.

Early life[]

Joseph Cimpaye was born in 1932 in Gitega Province, Ruanda-Urundi. His father, Michel Cimpaye, was a subchief. His mother was ethnically Tutsi,[1] while Joseph was classified at Hutu. His father was literate, and this enabled Cimpaye to receive further education at the Groupe Scolaire d'Astrida,[2] where he studied veterinary science until 1952. From then until 1957 he served as an assistant veterinarian in Rutana District. He subsequently became a laboratory technician at Astrida.[3]

Political career[]

In May 1960 Cimpaye founded AMEHUTU, a political party which quickly became defunct.[3] He entered colonial-era politics within the minor conservative Christian Democratic Party (Parti démocratique chrétien, PDC) which formed part of an electoral coalition called the Union of Popular Parties (Union des parties populaires, UPP) against the more popular Union for National Progress (Union pour le Progrès national, UPRONA) under Prince Louis Rwagasore. Cimpaye served briefly as prime minister of an interim government between 26 January to 28 September 1961 shortly before the country gained full independence from Belgian colonial rule. However, UPRONA won the country's first elections decisively in September 1961 and Rwagasore replaced Cimpaye as prime minister. Rwagasore's assassination in October the same year, attributed to supporters of the PDC, led to the radicalisation of politics in Burundi and forced Cimpaye to leave politics to pursue studies in Europe.[2] Burundi became independent in July 1962.

Later life[]

After returning to Burundi, Cimpaye worked for the Belgian airline Sabena as its head of public relations in Bujumbura. He was distrusted by Michel Micombero who came to power at the head of a radical Tutsi regime after a series of coups d'état in 1965–66.[2] Cimpaye was arrested by the regime on 6 October 1969 for alleged involvement in a Hutu coup plot.[3][4] In February 1970 he was sentenced to five years in prison.[3] During his incarceration, he authored a French-language novel entitled L'homme de ma colline (lit. 'The Man From My Hill', or 'District') which followed the struggles of a protagonist named Benedikto living in a rural part of Burundi during the colonial era in the 1930s or 1940s. It addressed the theme of exile and has been praised for its use of language, particular Kirundi proverbs in translation.[2] It has been hailed as the country's first novel although it remained unpublished until 2012 when it was distributed by the based in Brussels, Belgium.[citation needed] Cimpaye was released from prison in a general amnesty on 1 July 1971.[3] He was among a number of Hutu elites killed during the Ikiza by Micombero regime in 1972.[5]

Works[]

  • Cimpaye, Joseph (2013). L'homme de ma colline. Brussels: Archives & Musée de la Littérature. ISBN 978-2-871680-68-0.

References[]

  1. ^ Weinstein 1976, pp. 110–111.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Ngendahayo, Jean-Marie (24 February 2014). "Littérature : un roman exceptionnel d'un auteur exceptionnel". IWACU-Voix du Burundi. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Weinstein 1976, p. 110.
  4. ^ Lemarchand 1970, p. 463.
  5. ^ Weinstein 1976, p. 111.

Works cited[]

  • Lemarchand, René (1970). Rwanda and Burundi. New York: Praeger Publishers. OCLC 254366212.
  • Weinstein, Warren (1976). Historical Dictionary of Burundi. Metuchen: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810809628.

Further reading[]

  • Ndoba, Gasana (2008). "L'Homme de ma colline par Joseph Cimpaye. Un exercise posthume de transmission littéraire". In Quaghebeur, Marc (ed.). Analyse et enseignement des littératures francophones: Tentatives, réticences, responsabilités. Actes du colloque de Paris, 31 mai-2 juin 2006. Bruxelles: PIE Peter Lang. pp. 315–20. ISBN 978-90-5201-478-4.
  • Ngorwanubusa, Juvénal (2013). La littérature de langue française au Burundi. Brussels: Musée et Archives de la littérature. ISBN 978-2871680703.
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