Bujumbura grew from a small village after it became a military post in German East Africa in 1889 . After World War I, it was made the administrative center of the Belgian controlled Ruanda-Urundi. The city's name was changed from Usumbura to Bujumbura when Burundi became independent in 1962 . Since independence, Bujumbura has been the scene of much fighting between the country's two main ethnic groups, with Hutu militias fighting against the Burundi army which has many Tutsi people in it.