Makamba : CNDD-FDD determined to stay in power
During a press conference held at the Nkurunziza Peace Park Complex Stadium in Makamba province, in southern Burundi on January 3, the secretary general of the CNDD-FDD, Révérien Ndikuriyo, stated that his party is not ready to experience the decline of political parties such as UPRONA and FRODEBU. According to him, the former Hutu rebellion will not be defeated in the next elections.
INFO SOS Médias Burundi
Mr. Ndikuriyo explained this determination by a long-term recruitment policy, which includes young children. He even stated that the CNDD-FDD enlists “children in the embryonic state” so that they are born ready to serve the party.
“We have seen how the UPRONA and Sahwanya FRODEBU parties have aged. My party will not age like those. That is why we support 9-year-old children, commonly called “ibiswi vy’inkona”, said Mr. Ndikuriyo.
According to him, this policy goes even further : “We even recruit babies in the embryonic state so that they are born as ibiswi vy’inkona”, he said in response to a question from a journalist.
A controversial practice
This approach is not without its critics. Parents in Makamba province have regularly complained about the forced participation of their children in CNDD-FDD activities, sometimes during school days. These children are allegedly trained by party members in collaboration with former MP Jean Baptiste Nzigamasabo, nicknamed Gihahe, and police officers from the Makamba provincial police station. This practice has reportedly been going on for nearly seven years.
Presumed won elections
Mr. Ndikuriyo confidently stated that the CNDD-FDD cannot be defeated in the upcoming elections.
“I know this country of Ntare (the first founding king of Burundi) and Ndayishimiye very well. The verb ‘to be defeated’ cannot be conjugated for my party. There are even districts where only the CNDD-FDD will run,” he said.

Secretary General of the CNDD-FDD, Révérien Ndikuriyo and his deputy Cyriaque Nshimirimana decorate a child from a family of members of the ruling party during the day dedicated to the Imbonerakure in Makamba (southern Burundi), August 26, 2023
He added, “Every Burundian has capital within the CNDD-FDD. He who has not given his child has contributed either in food or in prayers. So do not expect my party to be defeated.”
This statement comes shortly after the opposition coalition “Burundi Bwa Bose” was excluded from the electoral race by the Independent National Electoral Commission, as was the main opposition political party, CNL.
Opposition Muzzled
This situation is perceived by several opposition leaders as an erosion of multipartism in Burundi. CNDD-FDD secretaries at the local level in the areas are said to have started a campaign to denigrate opposition parties. According to some reports, there are even awareness campaigns to “kill or imprison anyone who wants to oppose the ruling party during the next elections”.
These accusations, if proven, highlight a tense political climate in the run-up to the elections, marked by practices that raise questions about the state of Burundian democracy.
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Pupils and schoolchildren mobilized during the day dedicated to the Imbonerakure, August 31, 2024 in Bujumbura (SOS Médias Burundi)
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