Burundi - The African Mirror

Sep

21

2024

Mpox: UNICEF issues urgent appeal for $59m

NEWS

THE UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, issued an urgent appeal for nearly $59 million to halt the rapid spread of mpox in six African countries including Burundi, where youngsters have been impacted the most. “Children in Burundi are bearing the brunt of the mpox outbreak with alarming rates of infection and health impacts,” said Dr Paul Ngwakum, UNICEF Regional Health Advisor for Eastern and Southern Africa. “Of the nearly 600 reported cases, two-thirds are children under 19 years old and the situation is escalating really rapidly with more than [a] 40 per cent increase in cases over the last three weeks.” To date,…

May

03

2024

By The African Mirror

Kenya flood toll rises to 181 as homes and roads are destroyed

NEWS

FLOODS and landslides across Kenya have killed 181 people since March, with hundreds of thousands forced to leave their homes, the government and Red Cross said, as dozens more were killed in neighbouring Tanzania and Burundi. Torrential rain and floods have destroyed homes, roads, bridges and other infrastructure across the region. The death toll in Kenya exceeds that from floods triggered by the El Nino weather phenomenon late last year. In the central Kenyan town of Mai Mahiu, where at least 48 died in flash floods on Monday, two bodies were recovered from the debris on Wednesday, Kenya Red Cross South Rift…

Jan

24

2024

By The African Mirror

Burundi economy to expand 4.3% in 2024 vs 2.7% last year – IMF

BUSINESS

BURUNDI'S economy is projected to expand 4.3% this year from 2.7% in 2023, helped by improved performance in the agriculture sector, the International Monetary Fund said. With a population of 12 million, Burundi's economy relies heavily on agriculture revenues, especially from tea and coffee. "Growth is projected to accelerate ... supported by strong agricultural production, productive investment, and the ongoing reforms," the fund said in a statement late on Monday. Fuel shortages had hampered economic activity in 2023, the fund said. Burundi's economy is only starting to recover from years of conflict and political upheaval under former leader Pierre Nkurunziza…

Jan

07

2024

By The African Mirror

US expresses concern after Burundi president says gay people should be stoned

NEWS

THE United States said that it was troubled by comments from Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye, who last week called on citizens of the small African country to stone gay people. The comments escalated a crackdown on sexual minorities in a nation where LGBT people already face social ostracism and jail terms of up to two years if convicted of same-sex offences. "The United States is deeply troubled by President Ndayishimiye's remarks targeting certain vulnerable and marginalized Burundians," U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement. "We call on all of Burundi's leaders to respect the inherent dignity and inalienable rights,…

Oct

21

2023

By AVIT NDAYIZIGA, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Meet Coach Belyse, her country’s first-ever woman coach of a top-flight men’s team

FOOTBALL

“A pregnancy did not prevent me from playing football, I continued playing until I was five months pregnant, but a red card paved my way to a coaching career,” said Belyse Ininahazwe, the first female tactician of a male soccer team in Burundi. Ininahazwe is a 35-year-old mother of one, and the first female head coach of the Association Sportif Inter Star (AS Inter Star), a male football club from Bujumbura, Burundi, founded in 1977. Inter Star is a well-known male soccer team that plays in the Burundi Ligue A, currently known as the Primus Ligue. The league was established…

Apr

18

2023

By The African Mirror

East Africa’s peace mission in the DRC: why it’s in Burundi’s interest to help

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

BURUNDI was the first country to offer troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2022 as part of East Africa’s peace drive after a wave of attacks from the rebel group known as Mouvement du 23 Mars (M23). Burundi shares a 243km border with the DRC. Most of it runs through the Rusizi/Ruzizi River to the north and Lake Tanganyika to the south. It has been described as one of the most porous borders in Africa’s Great Lakes region. This makes it particularly vulnerable to the spillover effects of conflict from one country into the other. Burundi currently…

Jul

24

2020

By The African Mirror

How Burundi’s independent press lost its freedom

MEDIA FREEDOM

AIMÉ-JULES BIZIMANA, Professeur au Département des sciences sociales, Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO) OUMAR KANE, Professor of Communication Studies, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) The general and presidential elections of May 2020, followed by the death of President Pierre Nkurunziza, put the international media spotlight on Burundi. The country is now facing one of the darkest times in its history since the 2015 crisis. The crisis that year began when Nkurunziza, who had been in office since 2005, announced he would run for a third term. The move was dubbed unconstitutional and the announcement triggered protests that were…

Aug

25

2020

By The African Mirror

At least 15 dead as rebels attack southern Burundi

NEWS

AT least 15 people were killed when gunmen attacked an area in southern Burundi, three local witnesses have told Reuters. It was unclear whether the dead were members of the security forces, civilians or the attackers. The witnesses asked not to be named for fear of repercussions. The fighting in Bugarama district in Rumonge province began on Sunday and continued into Monday and people were hiding in the bush, a resident who escaped the attack told Reuters. "The gunmen kidnapped everyone they met and killed them before engaging in fighting with the army on Sunday morning," the man said. He…

Sep

18

2020

By The African Mirror

Burundi impunity for abuses continues, says UN report, as another mass grave opened

NEWS

IMPUNITY for rape, murder and other abuses is still widespread in Burundi despite a change of government, according to a United Nations report. The report comes days after Burundi's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which is examining past atrocities and investigating mass graves, issued rare criticism of local leaders in charge during a 1972 massacre. The U.N. report said there had been numerous rights abuses in Burundi connected to elections held in May. The new president, retired general Evariste Ndayishimiye, took power in June. He formerly served as the interior minister. Ndayishimiye has promoted high-ranking military officers involved in human rights…

Oct

22

2020

By The African Mirror

Burundi: 65 organizations call for immediate release of Iwacu journalists

MEDIA FREEDOM

ON the first anniversary of their arrest, 65 organizations call for the immediate and unconditional release of the Iwacu journalists Agnès Ndirubusa, Christine Kamikazi, Egide Harerimana and Térence Mpozenzi who were convicted on charges against state security for simply doing their job. Their continued detention on baseless charges is a stark reminder that, despite a recent change in leadership, the Burundian government has little tolerance for independent journalism and free speech, the organizations said. On 22 October 2019, the four journalists were arrested along with their driver Adolphe Masabarakiza as they went to report on clashes between the security forces and an…