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In Burundi, an influx of Congolese individuals continues as they seek refuge from the advancing M23.
In May, Burundi held a presidential election which was won by Evariste Ndayishimiye, candidate of the ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy - Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) party.
Ndayishimiye was hurriedly sworn in after the untimely death of president Pierre Nkurunziza in June.
Rights violations continue
The Council encouraged donor countries which had suspended aid to Burundi to continue dialogue towards resumption of development assistance.
A report by a UN watchdog in September said human rights violations were still being committed in Burundi, including sexual violence and murder.
The country was plunged into a crisis in April 2015 when Ndayishimiye’s predecessor Pierre Nkurunziza decided to run for a controversial third term, which he ultimately won in July 2015.
His candidature, which was opposed by the opposition and civil society groups, resulted in a wave of protests, violence and even a failed coup in May 2015.
Hundreds of people were killed and over 300,000 fled to neighboring countries.
Pierre Nkurunziza had only a few weeks to go as president of Burundi, before handing over power to his recently elected successor, Evariste Ndayishimiye.
Coming to power in 2005 after a bitter civil war that raged from 1993 in which it is estimated up to 300,000 people were killed, Nkurunziza had his work cut out for him.
But, as post-conflict Uganda and Rwanda show, there is also great opportunity in the rubble of war, because it provides imaginative leaders a lot of opportunity to build new things.
Nkurunziza did calm Burundi, treading the delicate balance between Hutu and Tutsi factions on which a peace settlement had been built, but he soon slipped, with Burundi becoming the most corrupt country in East Africa.
Yet, in the end, Nkurunziza became the first guerrilla leader president, who threw in the towel after 15 years, and didn’t fight to serve out a presidency for life.
He expelled a WHO representative and three public health experts coordinating the virus response, and his administration insisted the country would be spared because of its Christian faith.
Tolbert Nyenswah, senior research associate at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and former deputy minister of health in Liberia, said early, aggressive action by leaders is key.
\"You'll find the countries with a high number of cases, like Senegal, Ghana, South Africa, are some of those countries that are very good at doing testing,\" Nyenswah said on VOA's Straight Talk Africa.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is one leader winning high marks for taking early action in the country's fight against the coronavirus.
Africa's most populous country has the third-highest number of coronavirus cases, with just over 11,000.
Bujumbura is Burundi’s capital and largest city. Located on the northeastern shore of Lake Tanganyika, it is only a few miles from the frontier with the Democratic Republic of the Congo by boat through Lake Tanganyika.
Bujumbura grew from a small village after it became a military post during the German colonization of East Africa in 1899. After World War I, it was made the administrative center of the Belgian League of Nations mandate of Ruanda-Urundi, and was called Usumbura. The name was changed from Usumbura to Bujumbura when Burundi became independent in 1962.
During the 1990s, the city was the scene of civil wars. For more than a decade, battles between Burundis two main ethnic groups (Hutus and Tutsis) have destroyed hospitals, administrative buildings, the University of Burundi, and other schools in the city. The wars crippled the city’s economy which has in turn had a devastating effect on the entire nation since Bujumbura is the main commercial center and includes both the central market place to the financial district. It is also the location of the country’s only port and main airport. The conflict ended in 2005 and Bujumbura’s most recent census (2012) estimates the population to one million.
Despite its recent political and military turmoil, the city of Bujumbura remains vibrant. Its proximity to the beaches of Lake Tanganyika attracts tourists and it has long been considered one of East Africa’s best known cities for its night life and its ethnic restaurants which all varieties of food from traditional Burundian to French, Greek, Asian, Indian, Chinese, Lebanese, and Ethiopian. Bujumbura is also the center of beer manufacturing. Its two main brands Primus and Amstel are produced by Brarudi, the country’s only large-scale brewery.
Numerous western philanthropist organizations maintain their headquarters in Bujumbura. The largest is the United Nations’ regional peacekeeping mission operations headquarters.
Bujumbura is also headquarters of the city’s major religious groups. The Regina Mundi
Rwandan President Paul Kagame has suspended two provincial governors as part of an ongoing purge targeting public servants deemed to be lacking accountability.
Southern Province Governor Brigadier General Emmanuel Gasana and his Northern Province counterpart Gatabazi Jean Marie Vianney have been pushed out pending investigations into their performance.
“The President has suspended from duty Mr Gasana Emmanuel, Governor of Southern Province and Mr Gatabazi Jean Marie Vianney, Governor of Northern Province owing to matters of accountability under investigation,” a Monday statement by the Prime Minister said.
During a tour of the province early this year, President Kagame warned that local leaders will be held accountable should they not deliver services.
Lawmakers have welcomed the move by President Kagame to hold “the big fish” accountable, and are calling for thorough investigations of those who suspended and the findings made public.
The explosion came in the same week that 90 people were arrested in connection with skirmishes during campaigns, with the government insisting that any East African Community (EAC) election observers would have to undergo a 14-day mandatory quarantine on setting foot in the country.
The government said three people were killed during the first week of the campaigns in the attacks between the ruling party-affiliated group Imbonerakure and opposition party CNL supporters.
CNL party leader and opposition presidential candidate Agathon Rwasa said more than 200 of his supporters, including candidates who contested for legislative and local government, were arrested.
Mr Rwasa will be facing off with ruling CNND-FDD party presidential nominee Evariste Ndayishimiye, who is the chosen successor of President Pierre Nkurunziza, who has been in power for 15 years.
Police accused Mr Rwasa and his party members of incitement to violence during the campaigns.
[New Era] Ongwediva -- Communities in locust-infested areas are advised not to inhale the pesticide during spraying operations.
The civil society in Uganda is demanding transparency in the spending of Covid-19 loans to avoid loading taxpayers with corruption-fuelled debts.
Uganda had by end of last week received about $600 million (about Ush2.3 trillion) from various lenders to deal with the Covid-19 disruption, including a $491.5 million loan from the International Monetary Fund.
According to Julius Kapwepwe, director of programs at the debt tracking NGO, Uganda Debt Network (UDN), East African governments should be guided by necessity and not the convenience of the situation brought about by the pandemic.
The NGO disputes Uganda's official debt figures and estimates the real figure could be Ush14.3 trillion before accounting for the recent borrowing.
A big chunk of the money has been given to Uganda to address health emergencies brought about by the coronavirus while some of it is directed to shore up the economy, which has been affected by lockdown measures taken by the government to curb the spread of the virus.
FIVE East African Community (EAC), member countries are to benefit from the Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Program (NELSAP)'s establishment of a hydrological monitoring network of stations.
Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda will have the stations meant to provide real time data and more reliable information to improve water resources planning and management both at national and regional levels.
Nile Basin Initiative Secretariat Knowledge Management Officer, Ms Juliet Nakasagga told the 'Daily News' that the NELSAP component is part of the Nile Basin Regional Hydromet project that is a basin-wide Euros 5.5 million that is funded by the European Union (EU) -Germany's Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
\"In the EU-BMZ funded project we will install a total of 80 hydrological stations across the Nile River basin.
As part of the hydrological package, each of the NEL countries will receive water level and rainfall sensors, data loggers, accessories necessary for installation and rehabilitation of selected stations, equipment for water discharge measurements and dual data transmission technology.
Nairobi — Outgoing Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza succumbed to a heart attack in Bujumbura while his wife, Denise Bucumi Nkurunziza, is still receiving treatment at the Aga Khan University Hospital, in Kenya's capital Nairobi.
She received a message on Tuesday from President Uhuru Kenyatta, who sent a message of condolence and comfort to the people of the Republic of Burundi following the demise of President Nkurunziza.
In his message, President Kenyatta termed the outgoing Burundi leader as an outstanding regional counterpart who served his country with distinction as Head of State and Government, and worked tirelessly for the peace and stability of his country and the Great Lakes Region.
The President said death had robbed East Africa of a prominent leader whose contribution to the integration and progress of the region will be sorely missed, and prayed for God's calming comfort as the family, people of Burundi and East Africans mourn their departed leader.
Mr Nkurunziza died at a hospital in Karuzi, eastern Burundi.
Burundi's constitutional court on Thursday rejected an opposition bid to overturn the results of last month's contested election, declaring the ruling party's presidential candidate Evariste Ndayishimiye the victor.
The opposition National Freedom Council (CNL), headed by Agathon Rwasa, had alleged the May 20 general election was riddled with fraud and irregularities, including intimidation of voters, the arrest of opposition polling agents, ballot stuffing and proxy voting.
\"We were not expecting a miracle, despite the massive fraud and numerous irregularities that we presented to the court and despite the Catholic Church's report,\" party secretary general Simon Bizimungu told AFP.
Burundi's Catholic Church said last week its observers stationed at polling centres across the country also witnessed ballot box tampering, officials harassing and intimidating voters, and proxies registered \"in place of dead people and refugees\".
Ndayishimiye is described by those who know him as more open-minded than many in the ruling CNDD-FDD party, and is not associated with the worst abuses of recent years.
The vacuum at the presidency was occasioned by the death on Monday of Pierre Nkurunziza, who had been president since 2005 and was due to hand over to Ndayishimiye in August.
READ MORE: Pierre’s zigzag – Burundi’s cyclist, controversially sporty president
June 11: Cabinet meeting resolutions
\tBurundi’s cabinet issued a statement after an extraordinary session to discuss the way forward in a post-Nkurunziza era.
VIDEO
June 11: Burundi cabinet wants apex court to declare presidency vacant
\tBurundi will seek constitutional interpretation on how to proceed over the power vacuum created by the death of president Pierre Nkurunziza on June 8.
Cabinet wants the court “to declare the vacancy of the post of President of the Republic following the death of Pierre Nkurunziza,” a tweet by the VP’s office said.
In the issuance of condolences to the government, Chad for instance addressed its official message to Vice-President Simdimwo whiles the Botswana president addressed his message to Pascal Nyabenda referring to him as President of National Assembly and Acting President of Burundi.
Burundi's longtime President Pierre Nkurunziza has congratulated the governing party's hand-picked successor on a \"large victory\" in the country's presidential election, though the main opposition has pledged to contest the result in court.
The election commission on Monday declared Evariste Ndayishimiye, a former army general chosen by the CNDD-FDD party as heir to Nkurunziza, the winner of the May 20 poll with 68.72 percent vote.
\"I warmly congratulate the President-elect General Major Evariste Ndayishimiye for his large victory which confirms that the great majority of Burundians adhere to the projects and the values he embodies,\" Nkurunziza, who chose not to run after 15 years in power, posted on Twitter.
On May 8, 12 days to the polls and before the scheduled arrival of an East African Community mission to the country, the government said the regional bloc's observers would have to be in quarantine for 14 days, effectively ruling them out of the election process.
Nkurunziza was this year elevated by Burundi's parliament to the rank of \"supreme guide for patriotism\" and he will continue to be chairman of the governing party's powerful council of elders.
President Paul Kagame’s condolence message to Burundians following the death of the outgoing President Pierre Nkurunziza marked his first public message to the country since relations between Rwanda and Burundi turned sour in 2015.
“The government of Rwanda wishes to congratulate the newly elected president of Burundi, Maj-Gen Evariste Ndayishimiye and takes this opportunity to express her willingness to improve the historical relationship that exists between the two brother countries,” the statement from Rwanda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Co-operation said.
Rwanda has since desisted from commenting on Burundian politics, which experts argue is aimed at not causing tensions with Tanzania — which is not just a strong political ally of Burundi, but also a strong trade ally of Rwanda’s.
“President Nkurunziza’s successor will most likely continue the political line of the ruling party, which for long has been in open conflict with the government of Rwanda.
But there is a chance, as we have seen before in politics, that a new president can develop their own different personality and prefer to pursue or implement reforms that can bring about better relations with neighbours,” Charles Kabwete, Associate Professor of History at the University of Rwanda told The EastAfrican.
Burundi’s leading opposition candidate says more than 200 party supporters were arrested during Wednesday’s election, and he is keeping open the possibility of challenging the results over suspected fraud.
Rwasa was seen as being in a close race with Ndayishimiye, and members of his CNL party reported being harassed and detained ahead of the vote.
He told the AP he was disappointed with Burundi’s security forces and justice officials over “harassment and persecution” of party supporters, including those meant to monitor the voting.
SOS Medias Burundi, a group of independent journalists, has reported that more than 160 CNL party members were arrested, many of them on Wednesday night when it was time to count the votes.
Police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye said the arrests in general were related to voting fraud, and he accused CNL members of voting multiple times or trying to observe the vote without the proper permission.
There are now more than over 60,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus across the continent, with a number of African countries imposing a range of prevention and containment measures against the spread of the pandemic.
According to the latest data by the John Hopkins University and Africa Center for Disease Control on COVID-19 in Africa, the breakdown remains fluid as countries confirm cases as and when.
Lesotho is the country holding out as of May 12.
We shall keep updating this list largely sourced from the John Hopkins University tallies, Africa CDC and from official government data.
SUGGESTED READING: Africa’s COVID-19 deaths pass 1,000 mark
Major African stats: May 12 at 7:00 GMT:
\t
\t\tConfirmed cases = 66,319
\t\tNumber of deaths = 2,344
\t\tRecoveries = 23,143
\t\tInfected countries = 53
\t\tVirus-free countries = 1 (Lesotho)
Countries in alphabetical order
\t\tAlgeria – 5,891
\t\tAngola – 45
\t\tBenin – 319
\t\tBotswana – 24
\t\tBurkina Faso – 760
\t\tBurundi – 15
\t\tCameroon – 2,689
\t\tCape Verde – 260
\t\tCentral African Republic – 143
\t\tChad – 322
\t\tComoros – 11
\t\tCongo-Brazzaville – 333
\t\tDR Congo – 1,024
\t\tDjibouti – 1,227
\t\tEgypt – 9,746
\t\tEquatorial Guinea – 439
\t\tEritrea – 39
\t\tEswatini – 175
\t\tEthiopia – 250
\t\tGabon – 802
\t\t(The) Gambia – 22
\t\tGhana – 4,700
\t\tGuinea – 2,146
\t\tGuinea-Bissau – 761
\t\tIvory Coast – 1,730
\t\tKenya – 700
\t\tLesotho – 0
\t\tLiberia – 211
\t\tLibya – 64
\t\tMadagascar – 186
\t\tMalawi – 57
\t\tMali – 712
\t\tMauritania – 8
\t\tMauritius – 332
\t\tMorocco – 6,281
\t\tMozambique – 103
\t\tNamibia – 16
\t\tNiger – 832
\t\tNigeria- 4,641
\t\tRwanda – 285
\t\tSao Tome and Principe – 208
\t\tSenegal – 1,886
\t\tSeychelles – 11
\t\tSierra Leone – 338
\t\tSomalia – 1,089
\t\tSouth Africa – 10,652
\t\tSouth Sudan – 156
\t\tSudan – 1,526
\t\tTanzania – 509
\t\tTogo – 181
\t\tTunisia – 1,032
\t\tUganda – 121
\t\tZambia – 267
\t\tZimbabwe – 36
SUGGESTED READING: rolling coverage of the coronavirus outbreak in Africa II
Burundi's main opposition leader has rejected early signs the ruling party is heading for victory in this week's general election, describing the results from 12 percent of municipalities as \"fantasy\".
They do not reflect reality,\" said Agathon Rwasa, leader of the National Council for Liberty (CNL), of the results released by state media late on Thursday.
Rwasa said tallies done at polling stations on Wednesday clearly showed the CNL had the lead over the ruling CNDD-FDD party and its frontrunner candidate, Evariste Ndayishimiye.
The election commission earlier on Thursday had called for calm, saying it would take several days to collect and tally all the votes at official counting centres, and warned against reading into early and incomplete results.
The election commission said the final results were expected on Monday or Tuesday after ballot boxes had been secured and votes counted from more than 3 800 polling stations across the country.
The sudden death of outgoing Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza Tuesday came as a shock to everyone on the African political scene.
Nkurunziza ruled Burundi with an iron first for 15 years, including a controversial third term that saw hundreds killed in protests and more than half a million fleeing the country.
Burundi has begun seven days of mourning after the death of President Pierre Nkurunziza, who died Monday at a hospital in the town of Karuzi.
The rise of Imbonerakure will be Nkurunziza’s defining characteristic of his human rights record,” said Mudge.
Nelleke van de Walle, deputy director for central Africa at the International Crisis Group, said the future of Burundi depends on what the political system left behind by Nkurunziza will do in the coming months.
National name: Repubulika yu Rwanda
Current government officials
Languages : Kinyarwanda, French, and English (all official); Kiswahili in commercial centers
Ethnicity/race : Hutu 84%, Tutsi 15%, Twa (Pygmoid) 1%
Religions : Roman Catholic 49.5%, Protestant 39.4%, Islam 1.8%, indigenous beliefs 0.1%, none 3.6%, other 0.6% (2002)
Literacy rate: 71.1% (2010 est.)
Economic summary: GDP/PPP: $16.37 billion (2013 est.); per capita $1,500. Real growth rate: 7.5%. Inflation: 5.9%. Unemployment: n.a. Arable land: 46.32%. Agriculture: coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes; livestock. Labor force: 4.446 million (2007); agriculture 90%, industry and services 10% (2000). Industries: cement, agricultural products, small-scale beverages, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes. Natural resources: gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), methane, hydropower, arable land. Exports: $538.3 million (2013 est.): coffee, tea, hides, tin ore. Imports: $1.937 billion (2013 est.): foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, steel, petroleum products, cement and construction material. Major trading partners: Kenya, Democratic Republic of the Congo, China, Swaziland, US, Uganda, UAE, Tanzania, Malaysia, India, Belgium, Canada (2012).
Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 44,400 (2012); mobile cellular: 5.69 million (2012). Broadcast media: government owns and operates the only TV station; government-owned and operated Radio Rwanda has a national reach; 9 private radio stations; transmissions of multiple international broadcasters are available (2007). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1,447 (2012). Internet users:450,000 (2009).
Transportation: Railways: 0 km. Highways: total: total: 4,700 km paved: 1,207 km unpaved: 3,493 km (2012). Waterways: Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft. Ports and harbors: Cyangugu, Gisenyi, Kibuye. Airports: 7 (2013).
International disputes: Burundi and Rwanda dispute two sq km (0.8 sq
Health Minister Thaddee Ndikumana says government will store the incoming vaccine doses but will not take responsibility for any side effects.
[Citizen] Burundi on Monday said it would reopen its Kobero-Kabanga and Mugina borders with Tanzania, which were closed due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
The Ministry of Health has placed Rusizi under extra supervision after the Western Province District, which borders DR Congo and Burundi recorded five new Covid-19 cases in just a single day.
The patients were identified by the Ministry of Health as cross-border business operators, truck drivers who ply the Rusizi-Bukavu route, DR Congo, and one taxi motorcyclist.
Dr. Daniel Ngamije, the Minister of Health, said on radio that the five new patients, which were identified in Rusizi are under the ministry's management.
In the case of Rusizi, all five new cases were imported from DR Congo.
Dr. Ngamije explained that had it not been for the new cases in Rusizi District, inter-provincial travels would have been resumed.
