Jean Pierre Ruhinguka

Jean Pierre Ruhinguka (born Pierre Munanira in 1966) was a leader of the Barundi people from the Cibitoke Province, northwest of the Republic of Burundi.

Early life

Ruhinguka's father, medical graduate Isaie Ruhinguka, fled from Rwanda to Burundi in 1961 after the Hutu revolution. The family moved to the capital city of Bujumbura in 1968. Jean Pierre Ruhinguka was raised and educated in Bujumbura.

Career

In 1985, Ruhinguka joined the National University of Burundi Faculty of Medicine. The following year, he was one of the founding members of Jeunesse Patriotique Rwandaise, which later became a branch of the Rwandese Patriotic Front. This movement was based in Kampala, Uganda.

Jean Pierre Ruhinguka was among the few Tutsi youth from Burundi who joined the National Resistance Army of Yoweri Museveni in Uganda in late 1987. He would later be sent back to Burundi for mobilizing the Tutsi youth in that country in preparation for the Liberation War.

In November 1990, Ruhinguka joined the Rwandese Patriotic Army and led a group of 500 young Tutsi from Burundi, most of them recent graduates and students from the University of Bujumbura.

Death

Jean Pierre Ruhinguka died in December 1990 under uncertain circumstances. Speculation exists surrounding his death, most in regards to a possible power struggle between different exiled groups. This is plausible given his leadership position in the community.