Rwanda of 1884 assigned the territory to Germany as part of German East Africa, marking the beginning of the colonial era. The explorer Gustav Adolf von Götzen was the first European to significantly explore the country in 1894; he crossed from the south-east to Lake Kivu and met the king. The Germans did not significantly alter the social structure of the country, but exerted influence by supporting the king and the existing hierarchy and delegating power to local chiefs. Belgian forces took control of Rwanda and Burundi in 1916, during World War I, beginning a period of more direct colonial rule.
Sugar production in Rwanda Sugar production in Rwanda Rwanda produces the least quantity of granular brown sugar among four of the six countries of the East African Community, namely Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, accounting for about 12,000 metric tonnes annually as of August 2016. With national consumption measured at 90,000 metric tonnes annually in 2016, it is expected that by 2020, annual consumption will have reached 160,000 metric tonnes, costing over US$150 million to import. Following the 1994 Rwandan genocide, the new RPF government divested "Kabuye Sugar Works", the only sugar factory in the country to the Madhvani Group of Uganda, in exchange