Aloys Baricako (RANAC) accuses generals of hijacking the state and promises a national reconstruction

SOS Médias Burundi

Gitega, June 2, 2025 — In Gitega, Aloys Baricako is breaking his silence. The RANAC president openly accuses certain generals and senior officials of misappropriating public resources and stifling institutions for the benefit of private interests. He proposes a national reconstruction based on austerity, social justice, and a profound reform of education, health, and agriculture. Just days before the June 5 elections, his speech aims to offer an alternative to the current government.

At a rally held on Sunday in Gitega, the country’s political capital, Aloys Baricako, president of the National Rally for Change (RANAC) party, delivered a harsh indictment of the current government. He accuses a politico-military elite of hijacking state institutions for their own benefit, to the detriment of the Burundian population, which is struggling with a persistent social and economic crisis.

“A general can walk into the Bank of the Republic of Burundi and easily obtain $300,000 to import medicines. But only $100,000 is actually used, while the remaining $200,000 feeds the black market,” he denounced.

According to him, some senior officials are raking in illicit profits estimated at more than two billion Burundi francs, buying plots of land in the upscale neighborhoods of Bujumbura—the commercial city where UN agencies and the central administration, such as Rohero, are concentrated. He also deplores the massive importation of alcoholic beverages by ministers and directors general, while the country struggles to obtain foreign currency for fuel. “We are living in an era similar to that of Mobutu’s Zaire,” he quipped.

Rigor, social justice, and institutional reform

Aloys Baricako did not just denounce. He outlined a series of radical reforms to rebuild the country. He notably proposed the reinstatement of the death penalty for serious crimes : embezzlement of more than 10 billion francs, rape in flagrante delicto, and murder. He also promised stiff sanctions against members of the government deemed incompetent.

The president of RANAC castigated the dire situation in the country’s basic social sectors. He spoke of an education system that is stretched to the limit : overcrowded classes, a lack of laboratories, and low levels of high school graduates.

“A high school graduate is incapable of speaking five minutes of French without mistakes, nor thirty seconds of English,” he emphasized.

On the health front, he proposes redeploying all doctors to hospitals and entrusting the management of health facilities to experts in public health and hospital management.

A vision focused on agriculture and education

On the development front, Aloys Baricako is banking on agricultural intensification with large-scale mechanization and irrigation. He promises that “every household will have at least one cow within five years.” At the same time, he opposes the use of organo-mineral fertilizers, which he associates with an increase in cancer cases.

On education, he advocates a return to the old Burundian school system, with class sizes limited to 50 pupils and increased recruitment of qualified teachers.

With this strong rhetoric, Aloys Baricako intends to position himself as an alternative to the current regime, promising governance based on rigor, social justice, and competence. It remains to be seen whether this message will mobilize voters as the next elections approach on June 5.