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It was a moment of mixed emotions for Burundians on Tuesday as they received the repatriated body of former president Pierre Buyoya. While grief still lingered, his return marked a sense of closure and a chance to finally say goodbye to a leader who had left an indelible mark on their nation.
When Pierre Buyoya passed away in Paris in December 2020, Burundi mourned the loss of a leader who had played a significant role in shaping their nation’s history. While his time in office was marked by significant democratic gains, it was also tainted by dark allegations, including a role in the assassination of his own successor, a reminder of the fragility of power and legacy.
Buyoya’s journey came full circle in December 2020, when he was buried in Bamako, the city that had been his base for nearly a decade as he worked tirelessly to promote peace and stability in the Sahel region. His legacy as a statesman and diplomat was cemented in the hearts of those who mourned his passing at the age of 71.
His body returned thousands of miles from the foreign soil where he was laid to rest over three years ago.
In a nod to his complicated legacy, a Burundian government official disclosed that while Buyoya could be buried in his homeland, he would not be accorded the full dignities of a former head of state, a decision that reflected the ongoing controversy surrounding his tenure and the sentence that had been handed down against him.
A source at Bujumbura’s airport revealed that the plane carrying Buyoya’s remains touched down in the early afternoon on Tuesday, paving the way for a private reburial ceremony in his native Rutovo.
“In order to respect the last wishes of the deceased, the family has requested and obtained from the Burundian authorities permission to repatriate and rebury his remains in his native country,” the Buyoya’s family said in a statement sent to AFP on Monday.
The reburial will take place in a private ceremony on Wednesday at the family property in the southern town of Rutovo.
The 1993 elections in Burundi saw Buyoya step down as president, paving the way for Melchior Ndadaye, a Hutu candidate, to emerge victorious, a resounding win that signaled a new era in the country’s political landscape.
Buyoya’s military background served him well in 1987, when he staged a successful coup, ousting the existing government and taking the reins of power, a move that solidified his position as a dominant force in Burundian politics.
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Buyoya’s tumultuous career saw him regain the presidency in 1996 through another coup, but he surprisingly shifted gears in 2000, signing the Arusha Accords to bring peace to Burundi’s bloody civil war.
He fulfilled his promise to step down in 2003, Nearly three decades after the fact, justice finally caught up with Buyoya in October 2020, as he was handed a life sentence in absentia for his complicity in the cold-blooded murder of President Ndadaye, a crime perpetrated by radical Tutsi soldiers in a brutal display of political violence.
The murder of Burundi’s president ignited a powder keg of ethnic tensions, plunging the country into a protracted and devastating civil war that pitted Hutus against Tutsis, resulting in the loss of an estimated 300,000 lives over the next decade.
Buyoya had scoffed at the trial, labeling it a sham, but later chose to relinquish his AU position, driven by a desire to redeem his honor and prove his innocence.
Since 2005, Burundi has been under the rule of the CNDD-FDD party, a political force born out of the Hutu uprising that shaped the country’s tumultuous history.
The controversial bid by President Pierre Nkurunziza to seek a third term in 2015 ignited a powder keg of protests and violence, leaving a trail of devastation: at least 1,200 lives lost, 400,000 displaced, and a nation scarred by the unrest.
The sudden death of President Nkurunziza in June 2020, just before he was set to transfer power to Evariste Ndayishimiye, sent shockwaves through Burundi, cementing the hardliner’s grip on the presidency, a position he still holds today.
