Burundi

Burundi is a relatively small country located in central Africa, and the name and approximate territory has a continuity with the Kingdom of Burundi which was founded at the end of the 17th Century [i] . Between the 1890's and 1962 Burundi was a colony of first Germany and then Belgium [ii] . The post-colonial period was then marked by ethnic violence, political assassinations and civil war [iii] . Particularly political assassinations has tended to be frequent and in turn throw the country into conflict and violence.

A peace agreement was signed between Hutu militias and the Tutsi led government in 2006, and the country has been focused on rebuilding since [iv] . There was some rioting and violence,in which seven people were killed, since President Pierre Nkurunziza announced his intent for seeking re-election [v] . As of January 2016 an estimated 439 people had died and 240.000 people had been injured the political violence following President Nkurunziza's re-election [vi] . Burundi has the distinction of having the first female Prime Minister in Africa, Sylvie Kinig [vii] .

Kingdom of Burundi

The early history of Burundi, and especially the role and nature of the country's three dominant ethnic groups; the Twa, Hutu and Tutsi,  is highly debated amongst academics [viii] . What is important to remember is that the nature of culture and ethnic groups is always fluid and changing. While the groups might have migrated to the area at different times and as distinctly different ethnic groups, the current distinctions are contemporary socio-cultural constructs. In recent Burundi history these divisions has been used for political mobilisation. This means that there is the reality of everyday life no clear boundaries between the different groups, but the identities of Hutu, Tutsi and Twa are emphasised and made distinct when the political situation calls for it. There is however evidence for that the groups settled in the area of Burundi at different times and in different waves [ix] . It is believed that the Twa was the earliest people in the area, and were predominantly hunters and gatherers [x] . It is estimated that the first Bantu speaking peoples settled in the area which now constitutes Burundi in about 800 CE [xi] . The Hutu came later from Central Africa and introduced agriculture [xii]. The Tutsi  presumably came in the 15th and 16th century and raised cattle and practised pastoralism [xiii].

Gitaga drummers perform a traditional dance.
Source: www.everyculture.com

The earliest state with a direct continuity with the modern state of Burundi was the Kingdom of Burundi [xiv]. The kingdom was founded some time around the 16th century CE [xv]. Some academics believe that a shortage of land created an increased conflict over cattle to be used as lobola, and that this created a class of warriors amongst the mainly Tutsi people who practised pastoralism [xvi]. This warrior class would dominate the mostly farming Hutu people and founded the Kingdom of Burundi [xvii]. After a period of expansion the Kingdom of Burundi cemented its borders in the late 1600 CE [xviii] The kings of Burundi was referred  to as Mwami, meaning ruler [xix]. The kingdom was strictly hierarchical and ruled by a king with several princes beneath him [xx]. The royal court was made up of the Tutsi-Banyaruguru and they had higher social status than other pastoralists such as the Tutsi-Hima [xxi]. In the lower levels of this society was generally Hutu people, and at the very bottom was the Twa [xxii]. The system had some fluidity however and some Hutu people belonged to the nobility, and had some say in the functions of the state [xxiii].

The Kingdom of Burundi lost its independence with after they were conquered by Germany in the late 19th century [xxiv]. The German Empire established their first military post in Burundi in 1896 [xxv]. After 1899 Burundi was known as the military district of Ruanda-Urundi under German colonial rule [xxvi]. Both German and Belgian colonial occupiers continued to rule indirectly through local kings [xxvii]. The last King of an independent Kingdom of Burundi was Mwami Ntare V [xxviii].

Burundi under colonial occupation

After the [xxix]. Burundi was transferred to the Belgian Empire under a League of Nations mandate after the German Empire lost in the first World War (the Great European War) [xxx]. The transfer took place legally on the 20 October 1924 [xxxi]. In the years immediately following the Belgian takeover of Burundi there was a series of peasant uprisings, and the colonial authorities started a campaign of violently oppressing the rebellion [xxxii]. The Belgian colonial occupiers used forced labour to extract resources and taxed the Burundian people to pay for their own occupation [xxxiii].

Both the Belgian and German empires ruled Burundi through local kings in a colonial system known as indirect rule [xxxiv]. The colonial occupiers had final say, but local chiefs and the king had a say in issues of land and over lower sub-chiefdoms [xxxv]. Some scholars believe that the categories of Twa, Hutu and Tutsi, was based upon wealth and profession up until this point [xxxvi]. The categories were supposedly historically fluid and it was under the colonial administration of the Germans and the Belgians that they were constructed into strictly separate ethnic groups [xxxvii].

A system of identity cards was set in place and the top jobs for administrators and officials were reserved for Tutsi people [xxxviii]. The whole colonial period was a process of creating inequality and strict ethnic and economic separation between Hutu and Tutsi people [xxxix]. This strict division would fuel ethnic violence after the colonial period. The Burundian traditions and system of governance became a tools for colonial oppression as the traditional Tutsi elite would be relatively well off while almost all Hutu and Twa people suffered greatly [xl]. So while all people in Burundi during colonial rule were oppressed the Hutu and Twa suffered the most. This in turn lead to some of the anti-colonial struggle being directed towards Tutsi people, as they were seen as complicit in colonial rule [xli].

After Independence

In Burundi the Kingdom and the royal institutions had survived with some integrity and influence throughout the colonial period, and some of the nobility were directly involved in the struggle for independence [xlii]. Then King of Burundi, Mwami Mwambutsa IV, demanded independence from Belgium on the 20 January 1959 [xliii]. The Belgian government denied this demand for independence, but the demand would give momentum to Burundian political parties who had begun to advocate for independence. The largest of these parties was the Union for National Progress (UPRONA), and it was led by Prince Louis Rwagasore and Lkopold Biha [xliv]. UPRONA was founded in 1958 [xlv]. A smaller party supported by the Belgian state which was the Christian Democratic Party (PDC) [xlvi].

Ntare V (Charles Ndizeye), last King of Burundi (1966).
Source: face2faceafrica.com

Legislative elections were held on the 8 September 1961, and UPRONA won a decisive majority [xlvii]. The party supported the monarchy and was led by Prince Louis Rwagasore. Burundi declared itself independent on the 1 July 1962 [xlviii]. On the 13 October 1961, before independence was declared, Louis Rwagasore was assassinated by the political opposition [xlix]. This led to the dissolution of his party and a power vacuum which was contested by three groups: the Tutsi-Hima, the Tutsi-Banyaruguru, and a small emerging Hutu elite [l].  During the Kamenge riots Tutsi

militants of the UPRONA youth wing attacked and killed several Hutu trade unionists and supporters of the Hutu aligned Party of the People (PP) [li]. The violence created increased conflict in the already unstable and multi-ethnic UPRONA. Particularly the Hutu membership was disturbed by what was seen as anti-Hutu ethnic violence, and UPRONA was split between along Hutu and Tutsi lines [lii]. In the face of increasing violence Tutsi King Mwambutsa IV Bangiriceng extend the powers of the royal court and established a constitutional monarchy in Burundi [liii].

The assassination of Louis Rwagasore and the fracturing of UPRONA led to a political power vacuum. In 1966 King Mwambutsa IV was deposed by Prince Ntare V. [liv] Ntare V's rule was however short lived as he was in turn deposed in a coup led by prime minister Capt. Michel Micombero [lv]. The military coup meant the end of Burundi as a kingdom, this ended a royal tradition going back to the later 1600s. After the coup most of the country's power was monopolised by the Tutsi-Hima, who also controlled the army [lvi]. This ethnic group would rule Burundi from 1966 – 1993 to the exclusion of other ethnic groups in the country. The consequent military regimes were: Micombero; 1966-82, Bagaza; 1982-87, Buyoya; 1987-93 [lvii].

The period from 1972 – 2005 was a time of much violence and instability in Burundi [lviii]. On April 29 Hutu bands murdered and torture a number of Tutsi people [lix]. Hutu rebels killed all personal related to the regime in the city of Bururi [lx]. After the seizure of the city and local arms depots the Hutu militia attempted to kill the entire Tutsi population of Burari [lxi]. The Hutu rebels then declared the Republic of Martyazo, an independent Hutu homeland [lxii].

The Tutsi led government of President Micombero, together with paratroopers from Zaire, began their advance against the Hutu led Republic in April 1972 [lxiii]. Instead of targeting the Republic of Martyazo and armed personal the government army and its Zairean allies led a wholesale genocide on any Hutu civilians who could not escape [lxiv]. It is estimated that between 200.000 and 300.000 Hutu people were killed or fled the country in the next four months [lxv]. Almost all the educated Hutu people in the country was either dead or had fled the country [lxvi]. The regime also murdered Prince Ntare V and in turn crushed any hope of the return of the old monarchy [lxvii]. This act cemented power for the Tutsi-Hima amongst other Tutsi groups, and the previously progressive minded UPRONA was reduced to a vehicle for Tutsi power [lxviii]. Similar violence broke out in 1988 ending with the death of about 3.000 Tutsi and around 20.000 Hutu people [lxix]. The same kind of ethnic violence, spurred on by the fear of the other ethnic group acting first, happened in 1991 and 1993 as well, although on a much smaller scale with hundreds dead [lxx].

In 1990 Burundi moved slowly towards a more democratic political system [lxxi]. The regime enacted constitutional change, in part forbidding ethnically aligned political parties, which in turn ushered in a non-ethnic government [lxxii]. Melchior Ndadaye from the mainly Hutu  Front for Democracy in Burundi (FRODEBU) Party, was elected president in 1993 [lxxiii]. Ndadaye appointed Sylvie Kinigi as his prime minister, giving Burundi the distinction of having the first female Prime Minister in Africa [lxxiv].

Ndadaye and most of his government was assassinated by low-level army personal after only three months in office [lxxv]. Scared for their lives and remembering the 1972 genocide a large amount of Hutu people organised into militias [lxxvi]. Clashes between the Hutu militias and government forces is estimated to have killed between 50.000 and100.000 people and displaced up to 1 million people [lxxvii] [lxxviii]. The death of the President and most of his cabinet created a constitutional crisis, and  in january 1994, after protracted negotiations, Ndadaye's successor Cyprien Ntaryamira was chosen as President [lxxix]. Ntaryamira died in April that same year, however, in the same plane crash which [lxxx]. FRODEBU and UPRONA formed a coalition government, but it was ridden with infighting [lxxxi]. While the government was plagued by factionalism and infighting the ethnic violence continued in the rest of the country, and an estimated 150.000 people died in the two years after Ntaryamira's death, most in the initial violence in 1993 [lxxxii].

In 1996 military dictator Pierre Buyoya seized power in a coup and began negotiations for a transition government with various Hutu groups [lxxxiii]. A Hutu aligned group, the National Council for the Defense of Democracy–Forces for the Defence of Democracy (CNDD–FDD), was founded in 1994 to fight for a return to constitutional law and to change the Tutsi dominated army [lxxxiv]. In 2000 a peace deal was negotiated in Arusha [lxxxv], but ended without signatures from some of the main rebel groups including the CNDD–FDD [lxxxvi]. In part the agreement was for an ethnically mixed military and for democratic elections, yet some would argue that the Arusha agreement did nothing to curb Hutsi/Tutu radicalism [lxxxvii]. In 2003 the last of the Hutu rebel groups agreed to the peace accord [lxxxviii] with the transitional government lead by President Domitien Ndayizey, this included the CNDD–FDD, which was at the time lead by Pierre Nkurunziza [lxxxix]. After some sporadic violence a final peace agreement was signed in 2006 [xc].

Burundi after the peace accord

On February 28, 2005 Burundians voted in a national referendum for the implementation of a post-transitional constitution [xci]. Pierre Nkurunziza was elected the first post-transitional president of Burundi in elections held in the summer of 2005 [xcii]. Nkurunziza was re-elected in 2010 and sought to be re-elected again in 2015 with the argument that in his first term he had not been elected, but was part of a negotiated government and was appointed by parliament [xciii].

His announcement for re-election in 2015 caused widespread riots in Burundi against the sitting president. Seven people were killed in the protests [xciv]. Parts of the armed forces attempted to take over the government in a coup, but it failed and and five soldiers were reported to have been killed in the process [xcv]. After a rejected unity government Nkurunziza won an election, boycotted by the opposition, with 69.41% of the vote. As of January 2016 an estimated 439 people had died and 240.000 people had been injured the political violence following President Nkurunziza's re-election [xcvi]. Aditionally it was reported that several hundred political opponents of Nkurunziza had been arrested as of late 2015 [xcvii].

Endnotes

[i] Cornwell, Richard and De Beer, Hannelie. 1999. “Africa Watch Burundi: The politics of intolerance” in African Security Review, 8:6, 84-94. Page 84.↵

[ii] Ibid. Page 84.↵

[iii] Ibid. Lemarchand, René. 2012. The Dynamics of Violence in Central Africa. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Page 141.↵

[iv] Ibid. Page 173.↵

[v] BBC News. 29 January 2016. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-35436560 (Accessed 03.02.2016).↵

[vi] BBC News. 29 January 2016. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-35436560 (Accessed 03.02.2016).↵

[vii] Cornwell, Richard and De Beer, Hannelie. 1999. “Africa Watch Burundi: The politics of intolerance” in African Security Review, 8:6, 84-94. Page 87.↵

[viii] Uvin, Peter. 1999. “Ethnicity and Power in Burundi and Rwanda: Different Paths to Mass Violence” in Comparative Politics, Vol. 31, No. 3 (Apr., 1999), pp. 253-271 Published by: Comparative Politics, Ph.D. Programs in Political Science, City University of New York. Page 254.↵

[ix] Ibid. Page 255.↵

[x] Ibid. Page 255.↵

[xi] R. O. Collins & J. M. Burns. 2007. A History of Sub-Saharan Africa, Cambridge University Press. Page 125.↵

[xii] Uvin, Peter. 1999. “Ethnicity and Power in Burundi and Rwanda: Different Paths to Mass Violence” in Comparative Politics, Vol. 31, No. 3 (Apr., 1999), pp. 253-271 Published by: Comparative Politics, Ph.D. Programs in Political Science, City University of New York. Page 255.↵

[xiii] Ibid. Page 255.↵

[xiv] Cornwell, Richard and De Beer, Hannelie. 1999. “Africa Watch Burundi: The politics of intolerance” in African Security Review, 8:6, 84-94. Page 84.↵

[xv] Ibid. Page 84.↵

[xvi] R. O. Collins & J. M. Burns. 2007. A History of Sub-Saharan Africa, Cambridge University Press. Page 124.↵

[xvii] Ibid. Page 124.↵

[xviii] Cornwell, Richard and De Beer, Hannelie. 1999. “Africa Watch Burundi: The politics of intolerance” in African Security Review, 8:6, 84-94. Page 84.↵

[xix] Ibid. Page 84.↵

[xx] Uvin, Peter. 1999. “Ethnicity and Power in Burundi and Rwanda: Different Paths to Mass Violence” in Comparative Politics, Vol. 31, No. 3 (Apr., 1999), pp. 253-271 Published by: Comparative Politics, Ph.D. Programs in Political Science, City University of New York. Page 255.↵

[xxi] Ibid. Page 255.↵

[xxii] Ibid. Page 255.↵

[xxiii] Ibid. Page 255.↵

[xxiv] Cornwell, Richard and De Beer, Hannelie. 1999. “Africa Watch Burundi: The politics of intolerance” in African Security Review, 8:6, 84-94. Page 84.↵

[xxv] Ibid. Page 84.↵

[xxvi] Ibid. Page 84.↵

[xxvii] Uvin, Peter. 1999. “Ethnicity and Power in Burundi and Rwanda: Different Paths to Mass Violence” in Comparative Politics, Vol. 31, No. 3 (Apr., 1999), pp. 253-271 Published by: Comparative Politics, Ph.D. Programs in Political Science, City University of New York. 256.↵

[xxviii] ornwell, Richard and De Beer, Hannelie. 1999. “Africa Watch Burundi: The politics of intolerance” in African Security Review, 8:6, 84-94. Page 86.↵

[xxix] Ibid. Page 84.↵

[xxx] Ibid. Page 84.↵

[xxxi] Weinstein, Warren & Robert Schrere. 1976. Political Conflict and Ethnic Strategies: A Case Study of Burundi. Syracuse University: Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. ↵

[xxxii] Cornwell, Richard and De Beer, Hannelie. 1999. “Africa Watch Burundi: The politics of intolerance” in African Security Review, 8:6, 84-94. Page 84. ↵

[xxxiii] Ibid. Page 84.↵

[xxxiv] Uvin, Peter. 1999. “Ethnicity and Power in Burundi and Rwanda: Different Paths to Mass Violence” in Comparative Politics, Vol. 31, No. 3 (Apr., 1999), pp. 253-271 Published by: Comparative Politics, Ph.D. Programs in Political Science, City University of New York. 256.↵

[xxxv] Ibid. Page 255.↵

[xxxvi] Ibid. Page 255.↵

[xxxvii] Ibid. Page 255.↵

[xxxviii] Ibid. Page 255.↵

[xxxix] Ibid. Page 255.↵

[xl] Ibid. Page 255.↵

[xli] Ibid. Page 256.↵

[xlii] Ibid. Page 256.↵

[xliii] Weinstein, Warren & Robert Schrere. 1976. Political Conflict and Ethnic Strategies: A Case Study of Burundi. Syracuse University: Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. ↵

[xliv] Cornwell, Richard and De Beer, Hannelie. 1999. “Africa Watch Burundi: The politics of intolerance” in African Security Review, 8:6, 84-94. Page 85.↵

[xlv] Ibid. Page 85.↵

[xlvi] Ibid. Page 85.↵

[xlvii] Uvin, Peter. 1999. “Ethnicity and Power in Burundi and Rwanda: Different Paths to Mass Violence” in Comparative Politics, Vol. 31, No. 3 (Apr., 1999), pp. 253-271 Published by: Comparative Politics, Ph.D. Programs in Political Science, City University of New York. 256↵

[xlviii] Ibid. Page 256.↵

[xlix] Ibid. Page 256.↵

[l] Ibid. Page 256.↵

[li] Cornwell, Richard and De Beer, Hannelie. 1999. “Africa Watch Burundi: The politics of intolerance” in African Security Review, 8:6, 84-94. Page 85.↵

[lii] Ibid. Page 85.↵

[liii] Ibid. Page 85.↵

[liv] Uvin, Peter. 1999. “Ethnicity and Power in Burundi and Rwanda: Different Paths to Mass Violence” in Comparative Politics, Vol. 31, No. 3 (Apr., 1999), pp. 253-271 Published by: Comparative Politics, Ph.D. Programs in Political Science, City University of New York. 256.↵

[lv] Ibid. Page 256.↵

[lvi] Ibid. Page 256.↵

[lvii] Ibid. Page 256.↵

[lviii] Lemarchand, René. 2012. The Dynamics of Violence in Central Africa. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Page 141 – 143.↵

[lix] Ibid. Page 134 and 136.↵

[lx] Ibid. Page 136.↵

[lxi] Ibid. Page 136.↵

[lxii] Ibid. Page 136.↵

[lxiii] Uvin, Peter. 1999. “Ethnicity and Power in Burundi and Rwanda: Different Paths to Mass Violence” in Comparative Politics, Vol. 31, No. 3 (Apr., 1999), pp. 253-271 Published by: Comparative Politics, Ph.D. Programs in Political Science, City University of New York. 258.↵

[lxiv] Ibid. Page 258.↵

[lxv] Ibid. Page 258.↵

[lxvi] Ibid. Page 258.↵

[lxvii] Cornwell, Richard and De Beer, Hannelie. 1999. “Africa Watch Burundi: The politics of intolerance” in African Security Review, 8:6, 84-94. Page 86.↵

[lxviii] Ibid. Page 87.↵

[lxix] Uvin, Peter. 1999. “Ethnicity and Power in Burundi and Rwanda: Different Paths to Mass Violence” in Comparative Politics, Vol. 31, No. 3 (Apr., 1999), pp. 253-271 Published by: Comparative Politics, Ph.D. Programs in Political Science, City University of New York. 259.↵

[lxx] Ibid. Page 259.↵

[lxxi] Ibid. Page 261.↵

[lxxii] Ibid. Page 262.↵

[lxxiii] Ibid. Page 262.↵

[lxxiv] Cornwell, Richard and De Beer, Hannelie. 1999. “Africa Watch Burundi: The politics of intolerance” in African Security Review, 8:6, 84-94. Page 87.↵

[lxxv] Ibid. Uvin, Peter. 1999. “Ethnicity and Power in Burundi and Rwanda: Different Paths to Mass Violence” in Comparative Politics, Vol. 31, No. 3 (Apr., 1999), pp. 253-271 Published by: Comparative Politics, Ph.D. Programs in Political Science, City University of New York. 262.↵

[lxxvi] Ibid. Uvin, Peter. 1999. “Ethnicity and Power in Burundi and Rwanda: Different Paths to Mass Violence” in Comparative Politics, Vol. 31, No. 3 (Apr., 1999), pp. 253-271 Published by: Comparative Politics, Ph.D. Programs in Political Science, City University of New York. 262.↵

[lxxvii] Uvin, Ibid. 262.↵

[lxxviii] Richard and De Beer, Hannelie. 1999. “Africa Watch Burundi: The politics of intolerance” in African Security Review, 8:6, 84-94. Page 88.↵

[lxxix] Ibid. Uvin, Peter. 1999. “Ethnicity and Power in Burundi and Rwanda: Different Paths to Mass Violence” in Comparative Politics, Vol. 31, No. 3 (Apr., 1999), pp. 253-271 Published by: Comparative Politics, Ph.D. Programs in Political Science, City University of New York. 262.↵

[lxxx] Ibid. Page 262.↵

[lxxxi] Ibid. Page 262.↵

[lxxxii] Richard and De Beer, Hannelie. 1999. “Africa Watch Burundi: The politics of intolerance” in African Security Review, 8:6, 84-94. Page 89.↵

[lxxxiii] Uvin, Peter. 1999. “Ethnicity and Power in Burundi and Rwanda: Different Paths to Mass Violence” in Comparative Politics, Vol. 31, No. 3 (Apr., 1999), pp. 253-271 Published by: Comparative Politics, Ph.D. Programs in Political Science, City University of New York. 262.↵

[lxxxiv] Nindorera, Willy. 2012. “The CNDD-FDD in Burundi: The path from armed to political struggle” in Berghof Transitions Series No. 10 . Published by Berghof Foundation. Berlin, Germany. Page 9.↵

[lxxxv] Lemarchand, René. 2012. The Dynamics of Violence in Central Africa. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Page 142.↵

[lxxxvi] Nindorera, Willy. 2012. “The CNDD-FDD in Burundi: The path from armed to political struggle” in Berghof Transitions Series No. 10 . Published by Berghof Foundation. Berlin, Germany. Page 9.↵

[lxxxvii] Lemarchand, René. 2012. The Dynamics of Violence in Central Africa. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Page 142.↵

[lxxxviii] Ibid. Page 145.↵

[lxxxix] Nindorera, Willy. 2012. “The CNDD-FDD in Burundi: The path from armed to political struggle” in Berghof Transitions Series No. 10 . Published by Berghof Foundation. Berlin, Germany. Page 9. ↵

[xc]   Hatungimana, A. and Theron, J. 2007. “Peace agreements in Burundi: Assessing the impact” in Conflict Trends, 3 , 19–24. Page 20.↵

[xci] Lemarchand, René. 2012. The Dynamics of Violence in Central Africa. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Page 152.↵

[xcii] Ibid. 153.↵

[xciii] BBC News. 28 April 2015. “Burundi anti-President Nkurunziza protests in Bujumbura” ↵

[xciv] Ibid.↵

[xcv] The Guardian. 15 May 2015. “Burundi coup figure admits defeat after day of fighting in capital” http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/14/burundi-violence-coup-protests-bujumbura-president-pierre-nkurunziza . (Accessed 10.02.2016). ↵

[xcvi] The Guardian. 12 December 2015. “Burundi: 87 killed in worst violence since April coup attempt”. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/12/burundi-bodies-found-worst-violence-since-april-coup (Accessed 10.02.2016).↵

[xcvii] The Guardian. 12 December 2015. “Burundi: 87 killed in worst violence since April coup attempt”. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/12/burundi-bodies-found-worst-violence-since-april-coup (Accessed 10.02.2016). ↵