Pierre Nkurunziza is a typical African President!

Burundi is in a precarious moment of its life! Following a reportedly failed coup d’etat against President Pierre Nkurunziza, no one knows what will happen to the tiny Central African nation. Civil unrest has been the norm in the streets of Bujumbura and other districts. Protesters have been killed by police, nearly 50,000 civilians have fled to neighboring Rwanda. As the battle between the president and his loyalists on one side and the civil society, church, opposition and civilians on the other side rages on, the embers of fire are slowly catching fire. Soon or later, Burundi might catch fire, barely a decade after the decade-long war that was ended by The Arusha Peace Deal in 2005.

President Nkurunziza’s decision to seek a third term in office is threatening the fragile stability in Burundi. It is what led to the attempted coup. However, Nkurunziza has stuck to his guns and his greed for a third term, illegal under the Burundi law and against the terms of the 2005 peace deal in Arusha are fighting back. The election is due in June and predictably, Nkurunziza will win it! The opposition has vowed to boycott the polls and sadly, African Union (AU), has been rather muted on such a grave matter, all it has done is to make friendly statements that simply empower Nkurunziza. But it is Africa and Nkurunziza is following the script as drawn out by African presidents. Look at Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe, Yoweri Museveni in neighboring Uganda, Teodoro Obiang Nguema in Equatorial Guinea, Paul Biya in Cameroun and Joseph Kabila in Democratic Republic of Congo among others. These represent presidents for life, whose greed and obsession for power has turned them into presidents for life! They believe that their countrymen are not good enough to replace them in power and so they must rule their nations! They have turned constitutions into personal wills and the seat of presidency is not an opportunity to lead their people, but rather to rule over them and perpetuate all sorts of evil. True African presidents! And then they thump their chests that leaders are chosen by God!

These presidents are tin pot dictators. Their mistresses, cabinet members, family members and sycophants flout laws with impunity and because you are the president’s man or woman, no one can hold you to account. They hold hands and plunder economies, steal mineral wealth and even hunt down the opposition that dares to challenge them. They are ready to throw their countries to the dogs, if that is what it takes to stay in the highest office! Nkurunziza is playing this card and millions of Burundians matter no more!

The current African Union chair, Robert Mugabe is a president for life and has messed up Zimbabwe, and so are most of his colleague presidents across the continent. So how dare they fight one of their own! Nkurunziza belongs to the table of these tin pot dictators, demi gods and presidents for life who occupy the seats of presidency in Africa! They rule at all costs and the millions of their countrymen and women cannot stand in their way in the pursuit of power. 

Once again, as it has happened in many other African countries, Burundi might collapse into a civil war or ethnic cleansing right under the very noses of AU! The signs are all there and crystal clear, unless Pierre Nkurunziza reignites the morals of responsible leadership; a phenomenon so rare in a majority of African countries! 

As the continent watches Burundi slowly catching fire, let us remember that Nkurunziza is a typical African president who does not lead his people but rather rules over them!