Rutana : Is the provincial director of education a victim of having eaten from the plate of the governor and the boss of the CNDD-FDD?

The provincial director of education in Rutana, Emmanuel Nsengiyumva, had taken the decision to transfer teachers and appoint school principals at the beginning of the school year. These transfers and appointments were cancelled. The governor of Rutana and the provincial secretary of the CNDD-FDD party decided to “put spokes in his wheels” and did not validate his decisions. Frictions that are allegedly linked to bribes.

INFO SOS Médias Burundi

According to sources within the Provincial Directorate of Education in Rutana, a disagreement is observed between the provincial director of education and administrative authorities and the ruling party at the provincial level.

This was manifested on September 20 when a message canceling all transfers and appointments made by the provincial director of education reached those concerned.

These transfers and appointments had been carried out since September 16, the day of the start of the school year.

A message was sent to any person transferred or appointed to the position of school director to return to their former position as of Monday, September 23.

Some of the education stakeholders in this province report that this message came from the governor of Rutana, Olivier Nibitanga, and Sylvain Nzikoruriho, secretary of the CNDD-FDD in Burunga province.

According to them, this would be due to the fact that “the director would have issued transfers and appointments without the agreement of these two authorities, especially since the governor is at the same time president of the provincial education council”.

Another reason given “is that previously, any transfer or appointment had to first be accepted by officials of the ruling party and with bribes for non-CNDD-FDD activists”.

The third reason is that Emmanuel Nsengiyumva, appointed barely two months ago, was not supported by the two administration and political leaders because they had proposed Bernard Niyibizi, head of the Imbonerakure in Musongati district and former district director of education, for this position.

The latter having been arrested and imprisoned for participation in the assassination of a 20-year-old young man in early 2024.

Teachers who had been transferred say they are “devastated, especially since they are all those who had been redeployed far from their families a few years ago.” They say they had praised the work of this director.

They are demanding that the decisions taken by the provincial director of education be maintained and that the CNDD-FDD party no longer interfere in the education sector.

However, some claim that they had to pay the sum of 300,000 francs each to Mr.Nsengiyumva to be transferred.

According to sources close to the case, the Minister of Education François Havyarimana is already aware of this problem.

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Two men travel on bicycles in Rutana (SOS Médias Burundi)