The new president of the Republic of Burundi was sworn-in today for a seven-year term. Even if President Evariste Ndayishimiye inherits a country with big political and socio-economic challenges, there is hope that the new leader may achieve his country's long-awaited transformation.
From today the 18th of June 2020, Burundi has a new president: Mr. Evariste Ndayishimiye.
President Ndayishimiye is a 52-year-old former army general, politician, and secretary-general of the ruling party; the National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD). Mr. Ndayishimiye won the May 20 presidential elections with a majority 68.7% of the votes according to Burundi’s Independent Electoral Commission (CENI).
President Ndayishimiye was sworn-in two months earlier than planned because of the sudden death of the late president; Pierre Nkurunziza. According to the Burundian authorities, Pierre Nkurunziza succumbed to a “cardiac arrest” in the evening on the 8th of June 2020.
However, some sources suggest that Mr. Nkurunziza may have died from the COVID-19 after experiencing “respiratory distress” – a known symptom of the acute form of the coronavirus.
A few days before her husband’s death, the now-widowed first lady Denise Nkurunziza was taken to Nairobi’s Aga Khan Hospital for COVID-19 treatment. After recovering, she returned to Burundi one day after the death of her husband.
President Nkurunziza’s mixed legacy
At the beginning of his first term in 2005, president Nkurunziza embodied hope for his nation's transformation. A 40-year-old former rebel leader whose father was killed in 1972 killings of Hutu-ethnic intellectuals by the-then Burundi Tutsi-led government, President Nkurunziza had the right profile to bring a powerful and positive change of a war-torn, poor and ethnically-divided country.
After only one year in office, President Nkurunziza had already signed a peace treaty with the National Force of Liberation FNL – the last active armed rebel group at the time and therefore emphasizing his commitment to building a peaceful nation.
Different infrastructures like roads, schools that had been inexistent, or destroyed during the different crises that the country had gone through were now being rebuilt. Free primary education for the “Burundi of Tomorrow” (a Kirundi expression used to refer to the country's youths) and the removal of fees for the women giving birth; are some of the most popular government policies in President Nkurunziza’s first term.
However, the political violence against members of the opposition parties before the 2010 presidential elections, the killing of the activist Mr. Ernest Manirumva (an activist and economist who was investigating an arms sale corruption scandal that involved high ranking generals) seriously damaged President Nkurunziza’s image.
In 2010, President Nkurunziza was re-elected for another five-year term after that all opposition parties boycotted the elections. This boycott was a political mistake by the opposition because it gave the CNDD-FDD party “power it didn’t expect” as it had carte blanche to rule unchallenged. This mistake would later be felt when the elected officials from
the CNDD-FDD voted and changed laws that benefited the party.
On the positive side, President Nkurunziza’s second term (2010-2015) was also characterized by broader freedom of the press which allowed the population to be informed, even about the country’s most disturbing corruption cases and scandals. However, this progress was abruptly suppressed before the 2015 elections through different laws aimed at
suppressing the free media, which the government accused of bias.
Nkurunziza’s decision to run for an unconstitutional third term resulted in massive protests which were violently repressed by government security forces. Thousands of Burundians – still under the trauma of a bloody civil war that lasted more than a decade and cost thousands of lives – chose to flee their motherland. Like a déjà-vu, Burundian refugees could again be found in both refugee camps and cities of the neighboring countries.
After surviving a military coup led by a Burundian General Godefroid Niyombare – his former chief of staff and former comrade in the CNDD-FDD rebellion – Nkurunziza secured his controversial third term at the head of his country and thereafter centralized his power through different law reforms to suppress any opposition to his rule. These reforms were spearheaded by elected and government officials from the ruling party.
Nkurunziza’s third term was not welcomed by the international community. Different donors and international partners froze their aid to Burundi because of the lack of commitment to finding a political solution to the 2015 Burundian crisis. Burundi's image was also tarnished by the different reports that accused the government security forces and the youth affiliated with the ruling party CNDD-FDD of different abuses against human rights.
Burundi’s economy suffered over the past five years, with the real GDP rate being 0.4% in 2019 from 4.9% in 2013, reaching an all-time low -4% in 2015. According to the World Bank, Burundi’s GDP per capita fell from USD 305.5 in 2015 to about USD 272 in 2018. With 75% of its population living under poverty, Burundi is ranked among the top poorest countries in the world.
Fearful about any other potential military coup in case of his absence in his country, late president Nkurunziza avoided any foreign trip, except the 2017 short visit to neighboring Tanzania for only a few hours.
Before his sudden death earlier this month, President Nkurunziza had endorsed Evariste Ndayishimiye for the May 20, 2020, presidential elections. The latter was declared victorious by Burundi’s constitutional court after it rejected an appeal by Agathon Rwasa – the main presidential candidate opponent to CNDD-FDD’s candidate Evariste Ndayishimiye.
The election of Evariste Ndayishimiye has brought once again a new hope that things may change for the better in Burundi. A very reserved, religious man like his predecessor, and disciplined army general, Mr. Ndayishime may be the president who brings order in Burundi, redress the country’s economy, and helps rebuild the country’s broken social fabric.
However, the president should avoid the errors of his predecessor and bring a positive change during his seven-year long term.
Rebuilding the country’s economy
The new president inherits an economy that has been negatively affected by the sanctions that were imposed on Burundi by its main donors and partners, the European Union, and the USA. These sanctions – which were imposed after the post-2015 elections conflict – came adding to the already increasing poverty and inequalities among Burundians.
Corruption and poor infrastructures have seriously harmed the country’s image to attract foreign investment. The incoming president should develop clear strategies to fight corruption and therefore be able to attract foreign investment.
Even if Burundi is a small country with limited natural resources, it can develop a robust tourism sector just like its East African neighbors and therefore fight unemployment of its youth – the majority of the country’s population. This would also enable the country to develop its service sector but also to increase its foreign currency reserves and avoid scenarios of a foreign currency crisis that the country has known over the past five years.
Building a country for all Burundians, without exception
Among others, President Ndayishimiye should prioritize bringing the Burundian refugees back home and make sure that the main cause that pushed them to flee is no longer. With his military background and five-year-long term at the head of his political party, Mr. Ndayishimiye could bring order within the Imbonerakure – the youths affiliated to the CNDD-FDD party – who have caused terror across the country and whose criminal acts against the population remain highly unaccounted for.
The requests by the Burundian refugees in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo that spoke with Voice of America are clear on that: they ask the new president to assure the Imbonerakure are disciplined and stop being a threat to the population, especially those in parties of the opposition.
Before 2015, the private media generally enjoyed freedom which allowed them to freely inform the population. However, after the failed coup and the closing of most of the private media that the government did not like, the right to free speech guaranteed by the country’s constitution has seriously been harmed. The new government should avoid media censorship and allow journalists to freely perform their activities.
Reconciliation is now needed more than ever. Burundians must live together and in harmony regardless of their ethnic groups, political background, or religions. Burundians must have the same chance to compete for employment offers both in public and private institutions. The new president must play the role of unifier and help build a country for all Burundians without exception.
However, reconciliation is unachievable when those who have been accused of crimes against the people have not been brought before justice. President Ndayishimiye should allow and encourage justice to pursue anyone – whether close to the government or not – and hold them accountable for their crimes.
Fighting COVID-19 and reshaping the country’s foreign policy
Since the novel coronavirus was declared a pandemic early this year, most governments of the world have developed different strategies to limit the virus from spreading through social distancing measures. However, Burundi preferred a different approach.
The Burundian government first undermined the coronavirus’s threat in claiming that Burundi was under God's protection. Burundi did not rush to develop measures to limit the spreading of the virus, the identification, and treatment of those who contracted it, as well as developing strategies to mitigate the pandemic’s economic consequences.
The COVID-19 cases in Burundi (104 confirmed as of June 18, 2020) may be underreported. The May 20 general elections were preceded by massive movements of people attending political campaigns across the national territory which may have allowed the virus to spread nationwide and at a high rate.
Now that the new president is in office, the new government should develop a clear strategy to fight the virus. Social distancing, a ban on interprovincial travels as well as massive testing campaigns are some of the measures that the government can put in place to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Failure to acknowledge the threat the COVID-19 poses would be not only irrational but also suicidal for the new president in office.
The last Nkurunziza’s five-year term has damaged the image of Burundi in the international arena and the diplomatic relations with several countries.
However, the recent reactions by western countries like the United States to the election of a new president have shown their will to revive and normalize their relations with the new Burundian government. A congratulatory message from the Rwandan government to the newly elected president also gives hope to the normalization of the relations between the two sisterly countries.
President Evariste Ndayishimiye should take this opportunity to normalize relations between Burundi and the nations with which it has been in a tense relationship over the last five years. Reaffirming Burundi’s commitment to the East African Community and other international organizations should be a priority in the next government’s foreign policy.
Although there is no guarantee that President Ndayishimiye will solve the political and socio-economic challenges that the country is facing today, we have the right to remain optimistic. The success of the new president will depend on different factors including (but not limited to) the team of people that be members of the new cabinet. The president must be wise and vigilant in selecting the members of his next cabinet, but also make sure that all Burundians are represented.
Even though President Evariste Ndayishimiye inherits a country with big political and socio-economic challenges, there is hope that the new leader can positively transform his country and therefore leave a better legacy than his predecessor.
This article was first published on Linkedin by the same author.