Kayanza : a new call to “kill” launched by Révérien Ndikuriyo

The secretary general of the CNDD-FDD party, Révérien Ndikuriyo, urges members of this party to eliminate those he calls “wolves” to leave the “sheep”. Residents of Kabarore district, Kayanza province (northern Burundi) where he gave this speech, say they are scandalized by such comments. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

Imbonerakure (members of the youth league of the CNDD-FDD party) from Kabarore district in Kayanza province blew mobilization whistles last Thursday around 2 a.m.

They were gathering to prepare for a 5 a.m. meeting led by the secretary general of the CNDD-FDD party this Thursday.

Residents of the Rugazi zone in Kabarore district indicate that they have concerns and confusion following Mr. Ndikuriyo’s speech.

Even some members of the ruling party disagree with the order given by Révérien Ndikuriyo.

“We were surprised by his speech calling for violence. He urged us to eliminate the wolves and leave the sheep. In other words he ordered us to kill all those who do not agree with the ideology of the CNDD-FDD”, said an member from this party.

“Our secretary general described as wolves those who refused to adhere to the ruling party system. The sheep are the members of this party who accept the orders of the hierarchy”, insists another member.

For Révérien Ndikuriyo, head of the ruling party, every Burundian should be a member of the CNDD-FDD party.

“There is no choice“.

Those who do not adhere clearly show that they are deviating from “the right path”.

According to our sources in Kabarore, Révérien Ndikuriyo went so far as to suggest that teachers hold meetings related to the ideology of the former Hutu rebellion in order to teach pupils “the victory of the ruling party.”

A speech that repeats itself

Since the failed coup plot in spring 2015 against the power of the late President Pierre Nkurunziza, the very sulphurous secretary general of the CNDD-FDD has, at different times, called on the members of his party to “kill the opponents or non-zealous members of the ruling party”.

The one who told the youth of the ruling party “that there is no point in doing long studies in Burundi”, has, in a single case, admitted to having put a price on the head of a former soldier EX-FAB (Burundian army before the integration of Hutu rebel movements).

In September 2019, then president of the senate, Révérien Ndikuriyo put a price on Kaburimbo’s head. In an audio recording, he admitted to having promised a reward of five million Burundi francs (around $2,500 at the time).

“We must understand that a single person cannot afford to disrupt the security of an entire population. They must be eliminated. Then we have to ask God if it is a sin when we protect their sheep. For questions of national security, you have to be ready for anything”, Mr. Ndikuriyo boasted.

The concerned person, Pascal Ninganza, known by the nickname Kaburimbo, was killed at his home located in the district of Matana, province of Bururi (southern Burundi), in April 2020. Two other people were shot dead at the same time as him. It is the police that ordered and supervised their burial after killing them.

In 2016, Révérien Ndikuriyo promised an envelope of 5 million Burundi francs to anyone who would bring it to him, dead or alive.

The police suspected this former soldier of harboring rebels and providing military training to “insurgents” in the locality. Matana is among the rare rural areas where protests took place against the controversial last term of President Nkurunziza in 2015.

In another audio recording, the CNDD-FDD secretary general was heard calling for the killing of residents of neighborhoods in the commercial city Bujumbura who had protested against the same term, predominantly occupied by the Tutsi minority. He had used a term which was borrowed by the Hutu genocidaires in Rwanda before the genocide committed against the Tutsis in this country in 1994. The concerned person, for this specific case explained that there had been “misinterpretation of my words”.