Burundi commemorates the 27th anniversary of the assassination of President Melchior Ndadaye
RegionWeek Newsletter Vol III, Issue #136 | Wednesday, October 21, 2020
Burundian citizens this Wednesday commemorated the 27th anniversary of the assassination of former President Melchior Ndadaye. He was killed, along with several of his cabinet ministers, in a coup by Tutsi soldiers four months after he won the election in 1993.
UN report published in 1996 said, "the planning and execution of the coup were carried out by officers highly placed in the line of command of the Burundian army."
A number of low-ranking soldiers were found guilty of his killing in 1999. It was in 2018, that Burundi’s attorney general issued 17 international arrest warrants for former senior military and civilian officials suspected of involvement in the assassination of the first democratically elected president.
The Supreme Court of Burundi has sentenced ex-President Pierre Buyoya to life imprisonment
Burundi’s top court sentenced Ex-president Pierre Buyoya to life imprisonment on Tuesday, October 20th, 2020 for “an attack against the head of state” over his role in the death of President Melchior Ndadaye in 1993.
The court also sentenced 18 others in relation to the case, three of whom were given 20 years in prison. Many of those convicted, including Buyoya, did not appear in court since they were abroad.
Those sentenced were also ordered to collectively pay a fine of 103 billion Burundian francs (€45 million; $53 million).
Burundi Coronavirus Updates
The latest report on Coronavirus in Burundi released on October 19, mentions one (01) new positive case notified out of 1127 people screened on 10/18/2020. This is a 32-year-old Tanzanian who was tested at Kobero entry point, Muyinga.
During the last 28 days, 76 positive cases have been notified out of 13,494 tests carried out, including 71 imported cases or 93.42% and five (5) cases of local transmission.
Burundi has 44 active cases and recorded 1death. Since March 31, 2020, 46,326 people have been tested including 550 positive cases, for an overall positivity rate of 1.19%. The screening rate is estimated at 42 per 10,000 inhabitants 111 cases (20.18%) are imported and 439 cases are of local transmission.
Thanks for reading!
Fabrice Iranzi, RegionWeek.com
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