Coup Against King Mwambutsa IV

Date: July 8, 1966 • Location: Berlin, Germany

This milestone marked the outbreak and beginning of this historic period, which spanned 1966.

King Mwambutsa IV of Burundi was deposed in a coup d'état by his son, Prince Charles Ndizi.

Mwambutsa IV Bangiricenge was the penultimate king (mwami) of Burundi who ruled between 1915 and 1966. He succeeded to the throne on the death of his father Mutaga IV Mbikije. Born while Burundi was under German colonial rule, Mwambutsa's reign mostly coincided with Belgian colonial rule (1916–62). The Belgians retained the monarchs of both Rwanda and Burundi under the policy of indirect rule.