Shangi, Rwanda

This article is about the Rwandan sector. For the Congolese settlement, see Shangi, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Shangi
Sector
Shangi Location in Rwanda
Coordinates: 2°24′12″S29°0′21″E / 2.40333°S 29.00583°E / -2.40333; 29.00583
Country	Rwanda
Admin. Province	Western Province
District	Nyamasheke
Area [1]
• Total	34.69 km2 (13.39 sq mi)
Population  (2022 census) [1]
• Total	28,064
Climate	Aw

Shangi is a sector in Nyamasheke District in the Western Province, Rwanda. It is located at the southern shores of Lake Kivu.

History

Kigeli IV Rwabugiri, ruler of the Kingdom of Rwanda, reportedly won a major victory over the Nkore people at Shangi during his last military operations (c. 1894/95). ^[2]

In 1896, a Congo Free State expedition crossed the borders of the Kingdom of Rwanda. The "several hundred" Congolese-Belgian troops under Lieutenant Constantin Sandrart set up a fortified camp on a hill at Shangi, challenging the Rwandan control over the area. In resoponse, the Rwandan royal army attacked the camp in the Battle of Shangi, but was defeated. ^{[3] [4]} Despite this, the Congo Free State force peacefully withdrew in late 1897 due to internal problems. ^[5] At this point, Rwanda had submitted to the German Empire, and the German Schutztruppe subsequently established its own military camp at Shangi to secure the border. ^[5]

Disputes continued between Germany and the Congo Free State over the territory, but the "Shangi Problem" was eventually solved through further negotiations and the work of a border commission. ^[6] The Belgians also set up a new position near Shangi. ^[7] Shangi subsequently became a center for European exploration of the region, with Richard Kandt using it as a base. ^[8]

In the Rwandan genocide of 1994, Shangi's church became a "death-trap", as many Tutsi gathered at the location for protection but were then massacred by Interahamwe militants. ^[9]

References

1. "Shangi. Sector in Rwanda". Citypopulation.de. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
2. Newbury 2009, p. 140.
3. Cantrell 2022, p. 37.
4. Des Forges 2011, p. 15.
5. Strizek 2006, p. 75.
6. Strizek 2006, pp. 75–76.
7. Des Forges 2011, p. 24.
8. Des Forges 2011, pp. 24–25.
9. Prunier 1999, p. 254.

Works cited

• Cantrell, Phillip A. (2022). Revival and Reconciliation: The Anglican Church and the Politics of Rwanda. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN   978-0299335106.
• Des Forges, Alison (2011). Defeat Is the Only Bad News: Rwanda under Musinga, 1896–1931. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN   978-0299281441.
• Prunier, Gérard (1999). The Rwanda Crisis: History of a Genocide (2nd ed.). Kampala: Fountain Publishers Limited. ISBN   978-9970-02-089-8. Archived from the original on 2014-04-16. Retrieved 2016-09-25.
• Strizek, Helmut (2006). Geschenkte Kolonien: Ruanda und Burundi unter deutscher Herrschaft; mit einem Essay über die Entwicklung bis zur Gegenwart[Gifted colonies: Rwanda and Burundi under German rule; with an essay on the development up to the present] (in German). Berlin: Ch. Links. ISBN   978-3-86153-390-0.
• Newbury, David (2009). The Land beyond the Mists: Essays on Identity and Authority in Precolonial Congo and Rwanda. Athens: Ohio University Press. ISBN   978-0-8214-1875-8.