Requiem for the CNC

The nation does not die, men do. You don’t have to be a genius to know that. The nation remains, continuity of the State obliges. With it, its institutions. But these, just like the nation, can appear to be there, but only as scarecrows. This is unfortunately the case with Burundi today on the ground, if not below, and its public services. “Public”, oh no! Because our institutions, as sad as it may seem, have long since resigned from their mission to serve “the public”, and therefore the citizens of Burundi. And that’s how they go. Without warning. The case of the National Communication Council (CNC) is a perfect illustration (by Franck Kaze, Burundian journalist in exile)

SOS Médias Burundi

I hesitated for a long time between two titles: “Domine, dominated? » or “Requiem for the CNC”? So both came to mind at the same time, jostling like dice in a narrow box shaken by an expert hand. It must be said that the speech of the first and the document of the second occurred on the same day, that is to say last Thursday. But by measuring the scope of the decisions taken by Domine Banyankimbona and Vestine Nahimana, it is the second who won the votes.

The question you are asking yourself: “Yes, for Vestine, it is almost obvious that there are many things to say, and even to say again. But Domine, what is she doing in there?  »
Hold ! And I’m going to surprise you: you hit the nail on the head!

Especially since the words of the Minister of Justice may seem trivial, even positive and even encouraging.

But a word, all the same, on “Domine, dominated?” So as not to leave you feeling thirsty.
The remarks that I submit below for your reading were made by the Minister of Justice in Muyinga on June 6, in a meeting with justice sector personnel, in the presence of residents of this province. The latter had just complained to the minister that magistrates of Muyinga are known for their corruption, that no case is processed as long as the litigants do not pay them money.

“Today, the issue is to make corruption a line that should not be crossed. We must stop with the bribes. If things remain as they are in the justice system, where the population claims that judges are corrupt, in your presence, isn’t that shameful? So, dear judges, in our development policy, we must change, first of all by stopping corruption, and by stopping favoritism, because that is what handicaps the justice sector. Instead of indulging in corruption, I suggest you join hands and initiate activities that can lead to development,” Domine Banyankimbona said.

Wow! At first glance, one is tempted to applaud with both hands, and to congratulate him. Isn’t it ! But let’s take a closer look at the last sentence: “Instead of indulging in corruption, I suggest you join hands and initiate activities that can lead you to development.”
Doesn’t that inspire anything? To me, yes.

Basically, she says to them: “You have sinned, you are sinning, it is good. Now we forget all that. Stop!  »
But words alone are not enough. If you look at it in the RTNB newspaper _ yes, because I still happen to watch it _ from Sunday, June 9, you will see that she is in no way convinced and that she even begs them .

Logically, I think that the first and right thing that she should have done was to decide to carry out investigations to find out the culprits and punish them. Well, for her, you just have to put in the towel. She barely says to them, “It doesn’t matter. Keep going, but don’t overdo it.”
Am I exaggerating? Maybe. But what do you expect to happen when a crime is denounced in the presence of the criminals and instead of holding them guilty and punishing them for their misconduct, they are told, with a smile, that ” life goes on “.

Poor litigants from Muyinga, and undoubtedly elsewhere in the country.

But hey, that was just the starter, let’s move on to the main course: the CNC!
How sad is the news! The Communication Council which is consuming, which is dying, and which is burying itself alive. “But, let’s see, Franck, the CNC has been in agony for a long time,” you will tell me.
I grant you that. But with the Council’s warning issued on June 6 against the Iwacu newspaper sounds like the death knell.

Firstly because the text signed by Vestine Nahimana, its vice-president, makes no sense, because it attacks three articles which are nothing other than opinions, certainly which relate to facts, but which do not express only the thoughts of their authors. The newspaper itself specifies, in the “Opinion” section, that the comments reported by the newspaper “are those of the authors alone”.

In addition, whether it is the interview with Professor Julien Nimubona, Antoine Kaburahe’s post “Waiting for Eden” or my article “Burundi: where are you?  », all relate realities that the highest authorities themselves, at times, admit, often half-heartedly, sometimes openly.

Was the CNC aware of what was being planned against Pascal Ntakirutimana?

But the worst part of all this is having made the said warning public, just after the attempted kidnapping of journalist Pascal Ntakirutimana, head of the political service at the Iwacu press group, who interviewed Professor Julien Nimubona. Just a coincidence? I doubt.

Several elements also suggest that the CNC was aware of the attempted kidnapping of which Pascal Ntakirutimana was the victim.

Franck Kaze, Burundian journalist in exile

First on the day the warning came out. And then, it seems to have gone unnoticed by the public: the warning does not have a precise date! It is dated: “Bujumbura, June 2024”. What could this mean? Simply that the two actions, the kidnapping and the warning, were all in preparation at the same time, and that the warning, as plan B, should only come out if the kidnapping, plan A, failed. Which was the case.

However, the CNC has trapped itself, or for the benefit of the doubt, has been trapped. Since when weighing between the publication of people’s opinions and the attempted kidnapping of the journalist, which is more serious?

The National Communication Council could have been clever by pretending to release a press release which condemned the attempted kidnapping and come out of it, and then, some time later, publish its warning which would then have been, let’s say, more tolerated. Whatever…

When we add its silence on the permanent persecution that journalists suffer on Burundian soil, particularly the imprisonments of Floriane Irangabiye, unjustly sentenced to ten years in prison, and of Sandra Muhoza of the online newspaper La Nova, whose director has elsewhere recently called to appear, admit that this CNC is assassinating press freedom in Burundi.

But he does not realize that this act of ignominious treachery will not leave him unscathed and that it is even already experiencing its death.

Dying, dear Vestine Nahimana and others, does not always mean disappearing. It can also mean the way others look at you, the loss of all value, the hollowness represented by the CNC which has become an empty shell.

Just meditate on this. The best I wish for you is a resurrection. But it is not given in a context where you have already condemned yourself by your blind and total submission to the repressive machine of power.

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Vestine Nahimana, president of CNC