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16 Things You Didn’t Know About Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza

16 Things You Didn’t Know About Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza

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Jean Pierre Nkurunziza was elected president of Burundi, in 2005, after a decade-long war that had torn the country apart. He led the Eastern Africa nation to achieving political stability after the civil war. In 2006, he led Burundi to joining the East African Community economic bloc.

Last year, his decision to run for a third term sparked off protests and violence as the opposition and civil society groups condemned the decision. They said it was in violation of the peace accord, signed in 2000 in Tanzania.

Here are eight things about Nkurunzinza:

Sources: BBC, Amnesty International, International Business Times UK, WorldDiplomacy.org, Agence France-Presse, BBC.com, WVI.org,  washingtonpost.com

This slideshow is an update of one published on Sept. 9, 2014

Image: franceinfo.fr
Image: franceinfo.fr

He is a son of a Hutu Father and Tutsi Mother

His father was a Hutu and his mother, a Tutsi. The two tribes have had long-standing tensions since independence and fought each other in deadly ethnic clashes.Nkurunziza identify himself with the Hutu, which is the majority tribe in the country.

image: biafransatellite.blogspot.com
image: biafransatellite.blogspot.com

His father and five siblings died in civil wars

His father was a Member of Parliament. He was killed in the 1972 ethnic violence, when Hutus attacked Tutsis. The military responded by carrying out deadly attacks against the Hutus. Shortly after the civil war erupted, two of Nkurunziza’s siblings died in the violence. Three others died while fighting in the CNDD-FDD. Just one sibling, a sister, remains alive today.

image: mediaworldng.com
image: mediaworldng.com

He is a former rebel

In 2001, he became the head of Forces for the Defense of Democracy (FDD), the Hutu rebel outfit. He led the Hutu tribe as it battled the Burundi army that was dominated by Tutsis. The civil war was sparked by the assassination of the nations’ first democratically elected president, Melchior Ndadaye, which was blamed on Tutsi extremists.

flickr.com
flickr.com

He is the only president Burundi has had since the civil war

Nkurunziza is the first president to be elected by Burundians since the civil war ended. He was elected in 2005 by the Burundi Parliament. His election was part of the 2000 Arusha Peace Deal that ended the war that had torn apart the country along ethnic lines.

commons.wikimedia.org
commons.wikimedia.org

His bid for a third term has divided the country’s security forces

Nkurunziza’s bid for a third term caused widespread protest in the tiny east African country. The country’s security forces and the army were divided over this, with the army saying it backs a peace accord that limits leaders to two terms. There were reported cases of country’s police clashing with military officers.

AfricaPresse.com
AfricaPresse.com

He is known as the ‘Avocado President’

He is a farmer, known for his passion for Avocado fruits. Nkurunziza mostly does avocado planting in his countryside home, alongside other Burundian farmers. Since most Burundians are poor, they can barely afford butter for their bread and use avocado instead, which they have nicknamed “amaPeter”. By choosing to plant Avocados that most Burundians use on a daily basis, Nkurunzinza identifies with the majority of his poor countrymen and women, which has earned him the name the ‘Avocado President’.

USAfricaOnline.com
USAfricaOnline.com

He narrowly escaped a death sentence

In 1998, a Burundian court sentenced him to death for his actions while in the leadership of Forces for the Defense of Democracy, the Hutu rebel outfit. He was however granted amnesty as part of the deal that ended the civil war.

AfriqueInside.com
AfriqueInside.com

Nkurunziza worked as a lecturer at Burundi University before the civil war broke out

Following the assassination of Melchior Ndadaye — Burundi’s first democratically elected ethnic Hutu president — civil war broke out in Burundi. Nkurunziza joined the CNDD-FDD in 1995 as a soldier after the army attacked his university’s campus, killing 200 students. He almost died in the attack as well, but managed to escape.

BP.Blogspot.com
BP.Blogspot.com

He is one of Africa’s youngest leaders

Born in 1963 in Burundi’s capital city of Bujumura, the 50-year-old Nkurunziza is one of Africa’s youngest leaders. Given that many African leaders are a part of entrenched regimes with dictatorial tendencies, Nkurunziza’s democratic election in 2005 is that much more striking, as is his commitment to reconciliation and peace.

Interet-General.com
Interet-General.com

Nkurunziza married his wife, Denise Bucumi, in 1994

Nkurunziza and his wife, Denise, have five children together. The Frist Lady of the Republic has become the face of the Child Health Now Campaign, focusing on the fight against child malnutrition and promoting general child well being. The main objectives of the campaign include improved access to maternal and newborn child health services, and prevention of diseases and malnutrition among children under age 5.

GrandSlacAfrique.com
GrandSlacAfrique.com

He is an avid sports fan and football player

A football player since age 5, Nkurunziza played the sport throughout secondary school and university, and was always one of the best among his peers. While lecturing at Burundi University, he also coached Union Sporting, a first division club side that enjoyed much success under his leadership. Nkurunziza created a soccer academy in 2004 while working as a state minister, allowing hundreds of kids to hone their skills in training facilities across the country.

Assemblee.ie
Assemblee.ie

He continues to play striker for Helleluia FC

Nkurunziza continues to play striker for Helleluia FC, the football club he formed from former veteran players of Union Sporting. In his position, Nkurunziza is given the opportunity to score regularly, which he does with glee. He is often referred to as East Africa’s footballing president.

BurundiTransparence.org
BurundiTransparence.org

Nkurunziza is a self-described born-again Christian

A born-again Protestant Christian, Nkurunziza is described by many close to him as religious, but against fundamentalism at his core. His religious discovery came at the same time that he was pushed into the rebellion. Previously, he had dedicated his life to teaching, not political activities.

Zimbio.com
Zimbio.com

He banned jogging in March 2014

During the civil war in Burundi, a tradition of Saturday morning jogging began among the citizens of Bujumbura as a way to “vent their fear and frustration and claustrophobia.” Fearing that the jogging tradition was being used as a cover for subversion, Nkurunziza banned the practice in March 2014, and members of the opposition group, the Movement for Solidarity and Democracy (MSD) Party, have been jailed for the practice.

Source: BBC.com

RNW.nl
RNW.nl

Nkurunziza has been awarded numerous international awards for peace and reconciliation

Despite worries that Nkurunziza’s government limits political expression by pressuring opposition parties and the media, he has received many awards for peace-building work in Burundi. These include a peace award from the U.N. Commission on Peace Consolidation in Burundi in 2007, the Model Leader for a New Africa Award in 2009 from the African Forum on Religion and Government, and the Rising Star of Africa Award in 2010 from the Unity International Foundation.

President Nkurunzinza waiting to vote (Image: twitter)
President Nkurunzinza waiting to vote (Image: twitter)

Trademark dressing

Nkurunziza wears track-suits and sneakers on days when he is not attending to official functions. He wears them too whenever he is working out or attending to his avocado farm in the countryside.