Skip to main content

Top general announces overthrow of president Pierre Nkurunziza- BURUNDI

The radio broadcast by General Godefroid Niyombare — who was sacked from his position as the central African nation's powerful chief of intelligence in February — came hours after Mr Nkurunziza arrived in neighbouring Tanzania for talks to end the crisis.
PHOTO: People celebrate with soldiers in Bujumbura, Burundi after the announcement of a coup. (Reuters: Goran Tomasevic)

General Niyombare said on Wednesday he was working with civil society groups, religious leaders and politicians to form a transitional government.
Before his radio broadcast, General Niyombare made his declaration to reporters at a military barracks in the capital Bujumbura.
There he was surrounded by several other senior officers in the army and police, including a former defence minister, when he made the declaration, Reuters reported.
"Regarding president Nkurunziza's arrogance and defiance of the international community, which advised him to respect the constitution and Arusha peace agreement ... president Nkurunziza is dismissed, his government is dismissed too," General Niyombare said.
The presidential office, however, has rubbished General Niyombare's declaration.
"We consider it as a joke not as a military coup," presidential aide Willy Niyamitwe said.
A tweet was also sent out from the presidential account saying the coup had "failed".
"The situation is under control, there is no coup in Burundi," the message read.
More than 20 people have died since protests erupted in Burundi over the president's decision to run for a third term.Reuters: Jean Pierre Aime Harerimana

Coup leader says he's committed to democratic process
General Niyombare — also a former ambassador to Kenya — said he was committed to the democratic process and would work with others towards holding elections.
"All people are asked to respect the lives and property of others," General Niyombare said.
He said he would form a "committee for the restoration of national harmony", a temporary body whose "mission, among others, is the restoration of national unity ... and the resumption of the electoral process in a peaceful and fair environment".
General Niyombare said president Nkurunziza had violated the constitution by seeking a third term, in a statement to reporters at a military barracks.
Crowds poured onto the streets of Burundi's capital on Wednesday to celebrate the news, a Reuters witness said.
The people sang and cheered. Just hours earlier, demonstrators had been protesting on the same roads against the president's bid for another five years in office.
Soldiers surrounded the state broadcaster building and fired warning shots at protesters, AFP reported.
A Burundi ex-pat living in Australia, who asked not to be named, told the ABC the announcement did not come as a surprise.
"This is not a surprise, it is not the best solution, it is really a shame that the country has to go back to this type of rule," he said.
"But people seem to be relieved, those that I have been speaking to seem to be relieved.
the government denies claims of overthrowing 

"[A] friend I spoke to just then said that everyone is celebrating, they're crying with joy."
Critics of Mr Nkurunziza's bid for another five years in office say it violates a two-term limit in the constitution and the Arusha peace deal, which ended an ethnically fuelled civil war in 2005 that killed 300,000 people.
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.
South Africa said it was monitoring the situation closely but said it was too early to determine whether the move amounted to a coup, the foreign ministry said.
Burundi's former colonial ruler Belgium had no immediate comment on the statement from the general.
AFP/Reuters/abc

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kisii Senator Chris Obure and three former Permanent Secretaries charged over corruption related to the multi-billion shilling Anglo Leasing scandal.

Kisii Senator Chris Obure and three former Permanent Secretaries were on Wednesday charged over corruption related to the multi-billion shilling Anglo Leasing scandal. Obure who was charged over crimes committed when he was a Minister of Finance in former President Daniel arap Moi’s government, was in the dock alongside former Transport and Communication Permanent Secretary Sammy Kyungu, former PS Ministry of Finance Joseph Magari and former PS for Internal Security and Provisional Administration Dave Mwangi. They have all denied abuse of office and conspiracy to commit economic crime charges, although Mwiraria and the Kamani’s who are represented by lawyer Ahmednassir Abdullahi were not in court/CFM NEWS Also charged alongside them were former Postmaster General Francis Chahonyo, former Finance Secretary Samuel Bundotich and David Onyonka who was in-charge of debt management in the Ministry of Finance at the time he is accused of committing economic crimes. David Mwiraria who...
Post a Comment
Read more

MALLS ACROSS COUNTRY ON HIGH ALERT AFTER AL-QAEDA LINKED TERROR THREAT

A video purported to be by Somalia's al-Qaida-linked rebel group al-Shabab urged Muslims to attack shopping malls in the U.S., Canada, Britain and other Western countries. U.S. authorities said there was "no credible" evidence suggesting a U.S. mall attack was in the works. The threat by the al-Qaida affiliate came in the final minutes of a more than hourlong video released Saturday in which the extremists also warned Kenya of more attacks like the September 2013 assault on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi in which 67 people were killed. The masked narrator concluded by calling on Muslims to attack shopping malls, specifically naming the Mall of America in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, as well as the West Edmonton Mall in Canada and the Westfield mall in Stratford, England. The authenticity of the video could not be immediately verified by The Associated Press. The FBI and Department of Homeland Security provided local law enforcement agencies and private sec...
Post a Comment
Read more
kisii County News Thursday,June 18 2015 Father jailed for 30 years for killing son A signboard showing directions to Kisii law courts. A father was jailed for 30 years by the High Court in Kisii for killing his son. A man was jailed for 30 years by the High Court in Kisii after he was convicted of murdering his son. Kennedy Obara murdered his two and a half year old son, Hezbon Nyamongo by strangling him on April 11, 2013 at Nyaramba sub location in Gucha South, Kisii County. The court was told that Obara, who had a habit of beating his wife, had beaten her on the fateful night using a walking stick after which she fled to her parents at Suguta. She left behind her two sons who included the deceased and his seven-year-old brother. Kisii Resident Judge Ruth Sitati said that after carefully examining the evidence given by the prosecution and the cross examination, she concluded that it was Obara who killed the deceased. She said that in her considered view there was sufficient...
Post a Comment
Read more