This archive report was first published on 18 June 2020.
On Thursday, Burundi's newly elected president Evariste Ndayishimiye will be sworn in, marking a significant shift in the country's leadership following the sudden death of his predecessor Pierre Nkurunziza.
Nkurunziza, who ruled Burundi for 15 often tumultuous years, died of a heart attack last week, according to the government. However, speculation surrounds the circumstances of his death, with some suggesting he may have contracted the coronavirus, which his wife had been treated for in a Nairobi hospital just two weeks prior.
Ndayishimiye, a former army general and Hutu rebel, was elected in May in a vote disputed by the opposition. His inauguration was speeded up after Nkurunziza's death, and he will be sworn in at the Ingoma Stadium in the administrative capital Gitega.
The public has been asked to arrive early to allow time for coronavirus measures, including hand-washing and temperature checks. Diplomats and representatives of international organisations have been invited, but Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi is expected to be the only head of state attending due to the ongoing pandemic.
Ndayishimiye, 52, is reputed to be more tolerant and open than his predecessor and is not a regime hardliner. Observers say the death of Nkurunziza might give him more independence, but he will still have to please the powerful group of generals at the core of the ruling party who anointed him to succeed Nkurunziza.
"For the first time we will have a leader who is not just forging ahead regardless of the consequences, wrapped up in divine faith," a source in the French presidency said, highlighting the possibility of warmer ties with foreign donors, who cut Burundi off after the 2015 crisis.
