Kenya media outlets declare war against Burundi amid mourning period
Briefing Issue #103, Thursday June 11, 2020
We are Thursday, June 11, people are lumbering on the streets of Bujumbura. The skies are still heavy, melancholy feeds the air, and the wind moves hesitantly. The totally unexpected death of President Pierre Nkurunziza created a bitter deja vu, that Burundi dwellers breathe sporadically.
The death of a President brought Burundi face-to-face with its most deep encounter with grief. But thousands of miles away, in Kenya, a newspaper and other views-and-like-chasers decided to boost sales from this situation, the newspaper team members asked to one each other who will contradict us if we say that “Pierre Nkuruziza died of COVID-19”? it is logic, his country has no lockdown measures, fear and anger sell well.
Pierre Nkuruziza had no Coronavirus, you are free to believe it is not true.
There is no shame to die from COVID-19 or to say that you are coronavirus positive. Thousands of respectable lives were lost due to this pandemic. The point here is to go to the heart of facts and avoid manipulating the truth around events.
Burundi knows about Coronavirus. The measures were taken, but it won’t be enough, the pandemic is in Burundi, health professionals are aware and push hard. They work day and night to make the response more effective
Last Friday, June 5, a national protocol for the management of COVID-19 presented by a scientific committee. This protocol contains guidelines for the management of Covid-19 infection in its prevention, diagnosis, and treatment aspects.
Dr. Thaddée Ndikumana, Minister of Public Health, said that l’hôpital militaire, l’hôpital Roi Khaled, Bumerec, Polyceb and Kira Hospital are now equipped for the diagnosis and treatment of coronavirus disease.
“All healthcare providers will be trained in the care of Covid-19. The aim is to limit the spread in the event of an evacuation and only serious cases will be referred, “he said.
It was confirmed to RegionWeek that officials and key leaders have been consistently tested for coronavirus and had no COVID-19. Medical sources underlined that the late president’s close team members and family were tested weekly and had no coronavirus.
Are our sources, liars? no! We trust in sources and we verify on our own. You may found us biased and we can agree with you, we are not neutral because we stand for truth and freedom.
When THE STAR (a Kenyan Newspaper) quotes a western diplomat based in Bujumbura “He had coronavirus but no one would say so because the president had played it down all along,” we asked if this western diplomat had the information that the president was tested weekly?
If he knew it he is not a reliable source because he failed to mention the core fact around the health of the president that we had from early March 2020.
Believe in what you want but let Burundi mourn President Nkurunziza.
“The consequences of past tragedies will never evaporate, but Burundians hope to reach the stage where all this can be assimilated into a “new normal.”
It may be useless to believe that every Burundian or East African liked President Pierre Nkurunziza, he was not a candy seller. He was a President who took decisions on a daily basis, decisions that impacted positively and negatively thousands of families.
In fact, some families saw it was safe for them to leave Burundi and find refuge elsewhere. Would such families blame COVID-19 or care if the president died from Coronavirus or Not? We don’t think so.
People with a troubled mind and grieved heart swing from Denial to Acceptance, but it is hard to reach acceptance if media feeds you fake news.
Dear media personalities you can make money by selling fake stories, but you can’t win the war against the resiliency of people who navigate fake news atmosphere on a daily basis since 2015.
The people who, liked and hated President Nkurunziza need to mourn peacefully and look forward to a more fake-news-free- and-coronavirus-free Burundi.
Take care and be fruitful!
Fabrice Iranzi, RegionWeek
This is the online version of RegionWeek for decision-makers and young professionals, a newsletter about depth and context to Burundi and East Africa stories— written by me, Fabrice Iranzi. You can sign up for your own subscription to get concise information about game-changing events and insights straight to your inbox: