This archive report was first published on 18 June 2020.
On June 18, 2020, Burundi's newly elected president Evariste Ndayishimiye was sworn in, marking a significant shift in the country's leadership after the sudden death of his predecessor Pierre Nkurunziza.
Ndayishimiye, a former army general and Hutu rebel, was elected in May in a vote disputed by the opposition. He won the election with 68.7 percent of the vote, and an opposition bid to have the results overturned due to alleged fraud was overturned just days before Nkurunziza's death.
The swearing-in ceremony took place at the Ingoma stadium in the administrative capital Gitega, where Ndayishimiye vowed to 'continue his high-quality work that he has done for our country.'
Nkurunziza, who ruled Burundi for 15 years, died of a heart attack last week, according to the government. However, speculation is rife that he may have caught the coronavirus, which his wife had been treated for in a Nairobi hospital just two weeks prior to his death.
A medical source said Nkurunziza had suffered 'respiratory distress' before dying, and the country's lack of measures to combat the virus has raised concerns. Burundi has taken few measures to combat the virus, unlike its neighbours, and has even expelled a team of World Health Organization experts who were supporting the country's response to the epidemic.
Carina Tertsakian of the Burundi Human Rights Initiative described Nkurunziza's legacy as 'dark and sad', citing the 2015 run for a third term in office that sparked protests and a failed coup, resulting in at least 1,200 deaths and 400,000 people fleeing the country.
United Nations human rights investigators have said the period since 2015 has been marked by likely crimes against humanity committed by state forces, citing extrajudicial executions, arbitrary arrests, disappearances, torture, and sexual violence.
Observers say the death of Nkurunziza may give Ndayishimiye 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.
