Defeat Is the Only Bad News: Rwanda under Musinga, 1896-1931 (Africa and the Diaspora: History, Poli

A Rwandan proverb says “Defeat is the only bad news.” For Rwandans living under colonial rule, winning called not only for armed confrontation, but also for a battle of wits—and not only with foreigners, but also with each other. In Defeat Is the Only Bad News Alison Des Forges recounts the ambitions, strategies, and intrigues of an African royal court under Yuhi Musinga, the Rwandan ruler from 1896 to 1931. These were turbulent years for Rwanda, when first Germany and then Belgium pursued an aggressive plan of colonization there. At the time of the Europeans’ arrival, Rwanda was also engaged in a succession dispute after the death of one of its most famous kings. Against this backdrop, the Rwandan court became the stage for a drama of Shakespearean proportions, filled with deceit, shrewd calculation, ruthless betrayal, and sometimes murder.

• Remaking Rwanda: State Building and Human Rights after Mass Violence (Critical Human Rights)
• The Dynamics of Violence in Central Africa (National and Ethnic Conflict in the 21st Century)
• Antecedents to Modern Rwanda: The Nyiginya Kingdom (Africa and the Diaspora: History, Politics, Culture)
• Africa's World War: Congo, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Making of a Continental Catastrophe