Burundi’s Nkurunziza Lashes at Rwanda in New Year Message

Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza has reiterated his condemnation of what he described as Rwanda’s “destabilization” activities, saying efforts aimed at plunging his country into chaos would not bear fruit.

In a televised address, Nkurunziza said the country continues to face some security challenges which he attributes to Rwanda.

“The picture is not all bright; there was an armed gang that killed 26 people and wounded 7 others in Ruhagarika, Buganda Commune in Cibitoke Province. Some of these criminals have now been brought to justice,” said Nkurunziza.

“Those who committed these crimes acknowledged that it was in Rwanda that everything had been planned, that those who sent them are in Rwanda and that they came from Rwanda,” he emphasized.

Nkurunziza’s statement came on the same day when President Kagame alleged that two neighbouring countries were supporting Rwandan rebel movements.

Kigali has in diplomatic correspondences accused Uganda of facilitating the movement of elements of Rwanda National Congress, a political movement led by dissident General Kayumba Nyamwasa.

On the other hand, Rwanda blames Burundi for providing logistics to FDLR, a rebel movement whose leadership is accused of committing the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

In his address to the nation, Nkurunziza said cases of armed attacks “prompted us to conduct searches at several locations across the country, which resulted in the seizure of 123 rifles, 16095 bullets, 127 cartridge cases, 446 grenades, 27 bombs, 8 mines and other military or police items…”

He further said Burundi government in 2018 welcomed 58,262 returnees from Tanzania, Congo, Kenya, Uganda and Gabon, “as well as 200,000 returnees coming without assistance from the UNCHR.”

He added: “I cannot forget to mention the 30,000 Burundians who were expelled by the Rwandan Government and who were separated from their spouses and offspring after being stripped of all their property.”

Instability

The country slipped into chaos when President Pierre Nkurunziza chose to stand for a third term in office.

The protests in Bujumbura would later cultivate a fertile ground for a coup which was nipped in the bud before perpetrators fled to Rwanda.

President Nkurunziza now says he will not seek another term in office, effectively retiring in 2020.

“I will stay in the party and the party has men capable of contributing to the management of the country,” he declared.

“We have shown to those who continue to harbour doubts about us that the bad seeds of division no longer grow on our soil; we have turned a deaf ear to some Burundians and foreigners who still want to stir up the conflicts among us and divide us into antagonistic groups in order to plunge us back into the chaos in which the colonizers and the traitors who were allied with them had put in our country,” said Nkurunziza.

Moving forward, the president pledged to invest heavily in the country’s health, education and infrastructure sectors; uphold human rights and enforce accountability to address wastage of public resources.

Credit -Chimpreports