Pierre Nkurunziza was a dominant figure in Burundi’s politics in the last 26 years. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP In life, he always maintained that he had lived part of his youthful years in Kenya, and even mastered the diverse cultures of its people. Yet he still had a stunning attachment to his native culture.
Within the EAC bloc, he will probably be remembered as a leader who advocated for use of the English language in the Francophone state as part of his efforts to speed up cultural integration with other EAC members.
Critics, however, see a man who oversaw a reign of torture, rape and murder by his security forces that drove hundreds of thousands of citizens into exile.
Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza, who died of a heart attack aged 55 according to an official statement released on Tuesday, has left behind a mixed legacy.
Viewed as a pan- Africanist by his East African Community (EAC) peers and as a ruthless dictator by his critics, Nkurunziza was a dominant figure in Burundi’s politics in the last 26 years.
In life, he always maintained that he had lived part of his youthful years in Kenya, and even mastered the diverse cultures of its people. Yet he still had a stunning attachment to his native culture.
Whenever it was his turn to lead the EAC’s Heads of State Summit, for instance, the age-old Royal Drums of Burundi, would feature as prominently as the regional anthem.
Within the EAC bloc, he will probably be remembered as a leader who advocated for use of the English language in the Francophone state as part of his efforts to speed up cultural integration with other EAC members.
"Death has robbed East Africa of a prominent leader whose contribution to the integration and progress of the region shall be sorely missed,” President Uhuru Kenyatta said in a statement.
Libérat Mfumukeko, a Burundi national who serves as EAC’s Secretary- General, said in a statement on June 9: “President Nkurunziza’s unequivocally decided to lead Burundi into the community in 2007, having figured out that the economic, social and political homogeneity of the region provided vast opportunities for his country’s economic recovery and national reconciliation.”
Nkurunziza’s more than two decades in power, however, did little to defuse the perennial tensions with neighbouring Rwanda.Critics, however, see a man who oversaw a reign of torture, rape and murder by his security forces that drove hundreds […]
