Burundi’s President Dismisses Prime Minister Over Alleged Coup Plot
22:06 GMT 08.09.2022 (Updated: 17:04 GMT 31.07.2023)
© AP Photo / Berthier Mugiraneza
Subscribe
54-year-old Évariste Ndayishimiye, the current president of Burundi, took office in June 2020 after former President Pierre Nkurunziza died of heart failure. A week later, Alain Guillaume Bunyoni was appointed prime minister, backed by an overwhelming majority.
Burundian President General Évariste Ndayishimiye removed Prime Minister Alain Guillaume Bunyoni from office on 7 September over accusations of the latter's involvement in a planned coup d'etat. The chief of staff, General Gabriel Nizigama, was also fired for his involvement in the alleged plot, Anadolu Post reports.
The president has appointed Security Minister Gervais Ndirakobuca as the new Burundian prime minister, whose candidacy was quickly approved by the country's parliament.
The move follows statements made last week by Ndayishimiye that a coup had been planned against him.
FILE - Policemen patrol the Musaga district of Bujumbura, Burundi on July 20, 2015. Opposition leaders and human rights groups warned in Dec. 2021 that Burundi's government has shown little if any improvement under Ndayishimiye, who took office after the death of President Pierre Nkurunziza in 2020 with talk of reforms after years of deadly political crackdowns. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)
© AP Photo / Jerome Delay
The country's former Prime Minister Bunyoni had been under US sanctions for six years for taking part in suppressing the 2015 riots in Bujumbura. Protests in the Burundian capital erupted after ex-President Nkurunziza announced his candidacy for a third presidential term.
As a result of the way the riots were suppressed, Burundi had descended into violence, which led to the deaths of 1,200 Burundians and sent 400,000 fleeing the country, according to France 24.
The US sanctions came after about 100 gunmen were killed on 11 December 2015, during and after coordinated attacks on three military installations which continued a series of attempted coups in Bujumbura, according to a statement made by the country's army at the time.
All assets of these individuals located in the United States and those under the control of US citizens were frozen. US citizens were prohibited from engaging in transactions with people on the sanctions list.
In 2021, the US lifted sanctions on Burundi’s officials, recognizing the progress made by President Ndayishimiye in the fight against human trafficking and corruption, as well as its economic reforms.
