Évariste Ndayishimiye was born in 1968 in Giheta, Gitega Province in Burundi. He is reported to be a "fervent" Catholic. He began studies in law at the University of Burundi (UB) but was still studying in 1995 when Hutu students were massacred as part of the inter-ethnic violence which accompanied the Burundian Civil War (1993–2005). He fled and joined the moderate rebel National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy ("Conseil National Pour la Défense de la Démocratie – Forces pour la Défense de la Démocratie", CNDD–FDD) which drew its support predominantly from ethnic Hutu. Rising up the ranks of the group during the civil war, he presided over its militia and military activities. He gained the nickname "Neva".