Burundi’s army leader booted out
ABURUNDI army general said yesterday that he had sacked Pierre Nkurunziza as president for seeking an unconstitutional third term in office, and was working with civil society groups to form a transitional government.
The presidential office quickly dismissed the declaration by Major-General Godefroid Niyombare, who was fired by Nkurunziza as intelligence chief in February.
“We consider it as a joke not as a military coup,” said presidential aide Willy Niyamitwe.
But crowds of people streamed on to the streets of Burundi’s capital, cheering and singing, after the announcement and soldiers surrounded the state broadcaster building.
Protesters have taken to the streets for more than two weeks saying Nkurunziza’s bid for another five years violates the constitution and the Arusha peace deal, which, in 2005, ended an ethnically fuelled civil war that had killed 300 000 people.
Both documents limit a president to two terms.
Niyombare made his declaration at a military barracks in Bujumbura, while the president was out of the country at an African summit on the crisis.
Niyombare, also a former ambassador to Kenya, was surrounded by several other senior officers in the army and police, including a former defence minister.
“Regarding President Nkurunziza’s arrogance and defiance of the international community, which advised him to respect the constitution and Arusha peace agreement, the committee for the establishment of the national concord decided that President Nkurunziza is dismissed. His government is dismissed too,” he said.
More than 20 people have been killed since street protests erupted in the impoverished central African state more than two weeks ago, according to an unofficial count by activists.
East African leaders and a top official from South Africa were meeting in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to discuss the crisis that had already spilled over into a region with a history of ethnic conflict.
South Africa’s foreign ministry in Pretoria said it was monitoring the situation in Burundi closely, but it was too early to determine whether the move amounted to a coup.
Western donors, including the US and the EU, have criticised Nkurunziza’s decision to stand again.
The EU and Belgium had said they were suspending some aid, particularly support for the elections, owing to the violence. More than 50 000 people have fled to neighbouring states.
The UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, said the crisis was heading towards a “worst case scenario” that could see 300 000 people fleeing, some to other parts of Burundi and others abroad.
Nkurunziza, 51, who once led a rebel group from the majority Hutu population against the minority Tutsi-led army in the war, has pointed to a constitutional court ruling that said his first term did not count as he was chosen by politicians, not voted in.
Protesters say the court was manipulated and Britain and other donors have questioned the court’s neutrality.
His bid and the mounting violence have drawn increasingly strong rebukes from Western nations and African counterparts.
The US, a major donor to the national army, said police must stop using “violent force” against protesters. – Reuters