Burundi leader makes first appearance since coup bid -

vanguardngr.com

Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza on Sunday made his first official appearance since an attempted coup, appearing relaxed and assertive of his full control of the central African nation.

Dressed in a blue blazer and polo shirt, the president smiled and shook hands with reporters at the presidency in Bujumbura’s city centre, and gave only a brief statement without even mentioning this week’s attempt to overthrow him.

Nkurunziza has been facing weeks of violent and deadly street protests over his controversial bid to stand for a third consecutive term on office, and on Wednesday top generals announced they were overthrowing him while he was on a visit to neighbouring Tanzania.

But on Friday, having failed to capture the state broadcaster after fierce fighting with loyalist troops, the coup leaders admitted defeat and were detained or have gone on the run, allowing Nkurunziza’s motorcade to roll back into the city.

Nkurunziza spoke only about reported threats from Somalia’s Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab militants, who have warned of attacks against Burundi and other states that contribute troops to the African Union force in Somalia.

“We have taken measures against Al-Shebab. We take this threat seriously,” the president said.

Bujumbura was calm on Sunday, although civil society and opposition activists have vowed to resume street protests on Monday. Weeks of protests have already left at least 20 people dead, many of them shot by police dispersing the demonstrations.

“There is a truce so we can bury our dead,” said Pacifique Nininahazwe, one of the leaders of the campaign to stop the president from standing for a third term. “The protests will start again on Monday morning.”

– Coup leader at large –

Opposition and rights groups insist that Nkurunziza’s bid for a third consecutive five-year term is against the constitution and the peace deal that brought an end to the country’s civil war in 2006. The president has also been accused of intimidating opponents and failing to lift the fortunes of the impoverished country.

Nkurunziza, however, argues that his first term did not count as he was elected by parliament, not directly by the people. A former rebel leader from the Hutu majority, Nkurunziza is also a born-again Christian who maintains he has divine backing to lead the small landlocked country.

Seventeen alleged coup plotters, including a former defence minister and two top police commissioners, appeared before a state prosecutor on Saturday to face accusations of “attempting to overthrow the state”. Their lawyer alleged they had been severely beaten.

Officials say chief coup plotter Godefroid Niyombare, a general and former intelligence chief, was still on the run — although he had said Friday that he planned to hand himself in.

Rights activist Innocent Muhozi also said journalists were being subjected to threats of arrest and even death, and that the head of the prominent independent radio station RPA had been forced to flee the country.

Burundi’s main independent radio stations were attacked and put off the air by loyalist troops during the coup attempt.

In a sign of ongoing tensions, European aid groups also evacuated their foreign staff on Saturday, a diplomat said.

The coup attempt had raised fears of a return to widespread violence in the country, which is still recovering from a 13-year civil war that left hundreds of thousands dead.

More than 100,000 Burundians have fled the violence to neighbouring nations, the United Nations said Friday.