Mwezi IV. Gisabo of Burundi (Meyer 1916)

Mwezi IV. Gisabo (1845-1908)

I always loved this photograph of the King of Burundi made by the German Missionary Meyer. This picture was taken around the time of his death in 1908. In contrast to most German photographs portraying African rulers as political figures or/and according to the racialist lines of their world views, Meyer shows the king as a human and nothing else. In an almost expressionist way the photograph it brings the king at the bottom of creatureliness, where there is no space for colonial discourses but for empathy.

Mwezi Gisabo ruled Burundi from 1860 to his death in 1908. During his regency, Burundi was shaped by intense power struggle between different fractions and chiefs. When the Germans established their first station at Bujumbura in 1899, Mwezi IV. Gisabo hoped to extend hsi power with their help. The relationship between the African ruler and Germans, however, remained difficult for most of the time. The German official Captain von Bethe accussed Gisabo to conspire against German rule. In 1902 and 1903, Beringe went to war against Gisabo. After initial fighting, Gisabo offered his submission. Beringe granted several chiefs independence from Gisabo's suzerainty. The governor of German East Africa, Count von Götzen, however was furious about the campaign of Beringe, who had acted against his explicit orders to keep peace. He ordered Beringe to restore the power of Gisabo and to force the chiefs to accept their subordination under Gisabo.