The Long Run of the Burundi Democracy by Rugori Star and Felix Kilonzo

The world today has been embracing a peaceful coexistence of human beings. Africa is known for prolonged civil wars which in one way or another has dwarfed the economic prosperity in the continent. In sub-Saharan Africa the Darfur civil war of 1983-2005 and ethnic based genocide of Rwanda and Burundi.

   When the name Burundi is mentioned, the name of the former union of Ruanda-Urundi props up. Burundi is a tiny East African country which has an area of 27,830 square kilometres. It borders Tanzania in the east, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the west and Rwanda in the North. It has an estimated population of 8.09 million people as in 2005 and it is expected to reach 10.37 million people by 2015. In 1999 only 9% of Burundians lived in urban areas hence putting the country as the lowest urbanised country in Africa. 67% of the population is Christian mainly catholic while 23% hold some form of indigenous beliefs and the rest is Muslim. 99% of the citizens are Rundi and speak Kirundi as national language.

    It’s a country that has experienced a long and weary historical milestone towards the realization of nationhood. The country has 3 tribes, Hutu forming the majority of the population and the minorities which constitute of the Tutsi and the Twa. Over 47% of the Rundi are aged between 14 or younger and only 3% are aged 65% or older. As the younger half of the population grows to maturity and reproduces there's a possibility of high population density of over 260 per square kilometre. This is extremely dangerous.

    Burundi and Rwanda share the same political history as from 1914 to 1962. The two countries were former colonies of Belgium. They have same ethnic constituents and speak almost the same language.
    The road map towards a peaceful coexistence of the people of two tiny east African countries has been tough, full of dismay and lack of hope. Waking to see the next new day is a gift and seeing your grand children is itself a big favour. Many people were killed; others ran away from home and took refuge to the neighboring countries. The question that many people have been asking is 'why did the country with only 3 tribes fight against itself? That’s a hard question to answer as the former colonial masters have carried the blame of instability in its former colonies such the DRC and Rwanda. From history Belgium carries the blame of igniting hatred between the two many ethnic groups of Ruanda-Urundi as it favored one tribe at the expense of the other. In its set up Tutsis were given the mandate of supervising the majority Hutus and that planted historical enmity of the two tribes in Ruanda-Urundi.
   In 1933 the Belgian authorities mandated the Tutsi the responsibility of watching over the Hutu and, to demonstrate its seriousness, it introduced racial identity cards and through the identity cards one was assigned workplace and other responsibilities as dictated by the Belgian authorities. Favoring 14% Tutsi at the expense of the Hutu later initiated successive racial massacres between the two tribes in Burundi and Rwanda.
    Ruanda later published a Hutu manifesto in 1957 preparing their supporters for a future political conflict. In 1960, Hutu politicians scored overwhelmingly well and Gregoire Kayibanda, one of the Hutu manifesto authors lead the provisional government for the interim period to independence. In Urundi in 1961 the elections was a landslide victory for a joint Hutu and Tutsi politicians.
     In July 1962 Ruanda-Urundi gained their independence from Belgium and they acted against the wishes of the united nations of having a single federal nation. The two states separated and went with different constitutional blueprint.
    Why did the violence continue after independence? Tutsi having been served as supervisors of the Hutu, they continued with the pride and did not believe in the leadership of Hutu and that might explain the long and weary way of realization of participative politics that took almost 4 decades. Tutsi served the military and that’s alone explained the successive coups which were seen in 1966,1976,1987,1993 and 1996.Burundi became a constitutional monarch after independence and the decision took long time to be realized. Earlier on January 20th 1959 Burundi’s rules Mwami Mwambutsa IV requested from the Belgian minister for colonies a separation of Burundi and Rwanda and dissolution of the Ruanda-Urundi.  Political parties such as Unity for National Progress (UPRONA) pushed for independence was influenced to some extent the instability and ethnic based prosecution that occurred in Rwanda.
    In July 1st 1962, Mwami Mwambutsa IV was named the king of Burundi and on September 18th the same year Burundi joined the UN.
    Assassinations followed in the landlocked in the early years of independence. The king of Burundi Mwami Mwambutsa IV presided over the government combining the Hutu and Tutsi ministers to provide a peaceful coexistence. The monarchy constitution established a fair representation of both the Hutu and the Tutsi in the parliament.
  A major mistake king Mwami Mwambutsa IV committed was appointing a Tutsi prime minister in a Hutu dominated parliament. This sparkled unrest in the parliament causing the Hutu dominated police attempt a coup and were ruthlessly suppressed by the Tutsi dominated military led by Captain Michel Micombero putting the country in yet another moment of instability.
 In 1965 the Hutu Prime Minister Pierre Ngendandumwe was assassinated by a Tutsi gunman. The political and unrests marked the first journey towards the attainment of political nightmare in Burundi. It’s recorded the chronology of the end of the kingdom of Burundi which was between 1962 and1966which ended when the monarch was abolished by Captain Michel Micombero. Mwami Mwambutsa was disposed in a coup in 1966 and was forced to exile. Police and military were in control of the security portfolio and the same year prince Ntare V reclaimed the throne and he too was disposed by the Prime Minister Michel Micombero and that made Ntare V the last king of Burundi. It’s in the same year that the presidential regime was introduced in Burundi and president Micombero declared Burundi a republic under military regime. Michel Micombero was appointed the prime minister after the elections of 1965 where majority of Hutu politicians dominated the legislature and many termed his appointment as a breach of democracy and caused unrests in the parliament. It was a mistake Mwami Mwambutsa IV did knowingly and that prompted his disposition later in 1966.
   Michel Micombero the first president of Burundi introduced a ruthless Tutsi dominated government. The journey of the first republic of Burundi was not an easy one; it was full of wasted hopes, wasted humanity and crimes against humanity. Peace existed only beyond borders of Burundi and not inside. Tutsi leaders were thrown onto the presidency only through coup and not by majority vote as were demands by the Hutu rebels. Hutu were massacred and many people fled Burundi to the neighboring countries of Tanzania and the DRC. Hutu's were slaughtered in large numbers especially in 1972 in response to an attempted coup taking over 10,000 people of Hutu group especially professionals and the educated class.
   President Micombero was toppled in1976 after 10 years on power ending the first republic regime by Jean-Baptiste Bagaza. Under Bagaza a new constitution was promulgated in 1981 which did put Burundi a one party state. Bagaza was the first elected president of Burundi in August1984 under a one party constitution. Though he devised mechanisms of ensuring that he remained on power and that’s why the constitution provided for a one pass state. He suppressed the opposition and religious leaders during his rule.

   3years later after the first election in a single party state major Pierre Buyoya, a Tutsi overthrew Bagaza's government and suspends the 1981's constitution and all political parties hence reinstating military rule under military committee for national salvation (CSMN) unrests continued and the reminders of UBU (Union of Burundi workers) and in 1988 in Ntega and Marangara over 5,000 deaths were witnessed.
  According to the historical background President Buyoya made efforts of dealing with Burundi’s elementary part of the 1988 uprising. He disappointed Hutu expectations of rapid improvements under his new regime. He undertook steps of integrating Hutu in the government.

 President Buyoya did set up an advisory committee to advise him on ways of achieving a new sense of National Unity. It was during Buyoya's reign that he appointed a Hutu Prime Minister Hon. Adrien Sibomana. In1992, a new constitution was promulgated that provided for a multiparty democracy that ushered the multiparty elections of 1993. It spelt reforms for main reformists in Burundi. It prepared the nation for the first multiparty elections that overturned many expectations of Buyoya as the incumbent President.
  President Buyoya lost the election in 1993to opposition chief Melchior Ndadaye of the Hutu dominated FRODEBU. FRODEBU won majority in parliament.
   Charismatic Melchior Ndadaye initiated reforms in Burundi in short period he served as president. He incorporated Tutsi in his government. Out of 20 cabinet positions he allocated 8 to the Tutsi political leaders. In October 1993 Ndadaye was gunned down during a Tutsi attempted coup.

    The democracy was crippled by the assassination of Ndadaye and a series of violence sprout out in many parts of the country and over 300,000 people have been feared to have died in 1993alone. In the years after the assassination of Ndadaye over 0.5 million refugees fled the country. And many have never returned to Burundi even after the 2005 cease fire.
To stabilize the fragility the national assembly elected Cyprien Ntaryamira a Hutu as president who in turn appointed a Tutsi a Prime Minister. More disaster strike again in April 1994 Ntaryamira and Rwandan President were bombed in a plane sparkling the massive Rwanda-Burundi genocide which lead to the massacre to the death of a million people in a span of 100 days. The assassination of the Hutu presidents leads to the formation of Hutu rebel groups and Tutsi continued to serve in the military.
   The reformists and dictator Pierre Buyoya was reinstated in 1996 in a successful coup d’état. Buyoya once again suspended the constitution. In 1998, he promulgated a transitional constitution and was later sworn in as president of the transitional government.

   President Buyoya did part of yet again liberating the dying nation off the yoke of ethnicity by accepting power sharing between the government and the legislature. On August 28th 2000 he promulgated a transitional constitution which placed a trial government for 5years and that declared cease fire for the first time since independence. The United Nations brokered the exercise and it did great towards the realization of the purpose of unity. Cease fire agreement was signed between the government and the CNDD-FDD (national council for the defense of the democracy-army of the defence of the democracy).

In 2003, FRODEBU leader Domitien Ndayizeye was elected the president of the transitional government and succeeded the military President Buyoya. In 2005 anew constitution was passed in a referendum and stability was for the first time seen in Burundi. The leader of the CNDD-FDD Pierre Nkurunziza was the first elected President under the 4th Republic of Burundi and he has achieved much especially when he successfully joined East African Community (EAC). The journey from 1962 to 2005 was long and weary. Many have the memories of civil wars and others would rather not talk about it because it brings the trauma of wasted hopes and economy. The democratically  change propelled the return of many Burundians in exile and the memories of civil war has taught them that they are people of the same nation and love is essential for a peaceful nation.