This is a developing story.



Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza has died, the government of the Republic of Burundi announced in a statement that was posted on their twitter account.



&#8220;The Government of the Republic of Burundi announces with great sadness the unexpected death of His Excellency Pierre Nkurunziza, President of the Republic of Burundi, at the Karusi Fiftieth Anniversary Hospital following a cardiac arrest on June 8, 2020,&#8221;



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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">URGENT: Le Gouvernement de la République du Burundi annonce avec une très grande tristesse le décès inopiné de Son Excellence Pierre Nkurunziza, Président de la République du Burundi, survenu à l’Hôpital du Cinquantenaire de Karusi suite à un arrêt cardiaque ce 8 juin 2020. <a href="https://t.co/PP46kKzAM5">pic.twitter.com/PP46kKzAM5</a>&mdash; Bureau du Premier Ministre (@BurundiGov) <a href="https://twitter.com/BurundiGov/status/1270359764065759233?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 9, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza Has Died

With an Ebola epidemic raging and millions caught in a forgotten “catastrophe” of conflict and hunger, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was the most neglected crisis of 2018, according to an annual Thomson Reuters Foundation poll of aid agencies.



This year’s survey was unusual for the high number of “most forgotten crises”, with experts also listing the Central African Republic, Lake Chad Basin, Yemen, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Burundi, Nigeria and, for the first time, Venezuela.



But Congo’s “mega-crisis” barely made headlines, they said, even as the country gears up for landmark elections on Sunday which some fear could stoke further unrest.



“The brutality of the conflict is shocking, the national and international neglect outrageous,” said Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council.



“I visited Congo this year and have seldom witnessed such a gap between needs and assistance.”



Congo, where 13 million people in a population of 82 million need help, also topped the annual Thomson Reuters Foundation poll in 2017, but agencies said the situation had deteriorated.



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Six of 21 agencies polled named Congo as the most neglected crisis, including WFP, Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam, ActionAid, International Rescue Committee, and Christian Aid.



ActionAid’s humanitarian advisor Rachid Boumnijel urged the international community to redouble efforts to end years of conflict characterized by sexual brutality.



“It’s been a catastrophe for the country, and for women and girls particularly,”&nbsp;Boumnijel said.



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">EBOLA</h5>



Christian Aid’s head of humanitarian programs Maurice Onyango said the violence had caused “large-scale trauma”, with children witnessing parents and siblings being murdered.



An upsurge of fighting in the east of the mineral-rich country has also exacerbated the spread of the world’s second largest Ebola outbreak, agencies said.



The Central African Republic, where armed groups control much of the country and 60 percent of the population needs assistance, came a close second in the poll.



Listed as the most neglected by OCHA, UNICEF, MercyCorps, Plan International, and Caritas, the country has been racked by violence since mainly Muslim rebels ousted the president in 2013, provoking a backlash from Christian militias.



Armed groups are increasingly targeting schools, hospitals, mosques and churches, while attacks on aid workers have impacted a “chronically underfunded” humanitarian response, they said.



U.N. children’s agency UNICEF said thousands of children had been trapped in armed groups or subjected to sexual violence.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“The crisis is growing increasingly desperate and resources are at breaking point,” added UNICEF emergencies director Manuel Fontaine.</blockquote>



U.N. appeals for both DRC and CAR are less than 50 percent funded.



“Central African Republic is in a death spiral,” said Caritas Secretary General Michel Roy. “While governments and the world’s media have turned their backs, we must not. It’s the only hope CAR has left.”



Plan International said the media neglected complex crises like CAR and DRC because they lacked the shock factor of a sudden disaster like Indonesia’s huge earthquake in September.



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">“MASSIVE FLOOD”</h5>



Yemen, at risk of the world’s worst famine in 100 years, was highlighted by Muslim Hands and World Vision.



“With three quarters of the population needing assistance, I can’t see how Yemen isn’t at the top of everyone’s list,” said World Vision emergencies chief Mark Smith.



South Africa issues arrest warrant for Zimbabwe&#8217;s Grace Mugabe



International Medical Corps warned the disaster in Lake Chad basin, where climate change and a prolonged insurgency by Boko Haram and Islamic State have left 11 million needing help, was also set to worsen next year.



Action Against Hunger said millions caught up in the “almost invisible” crisis &#8211; affecting Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon &#8211; faced poverty, hunger, sexual violence and child kidnapping.



The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the world’s biggest relief network, said hunger and disease following major flooding across Nigeria threatened to create a second protracted crisis in the country.



“I’m shocked by how little attention (this) has received. The figures are staggering,”&nbsp;said IFRC Secretary General Elhadj As Sy, adding that nearly 2 million people were impacted, more than 200,000 uprooted and swathes of cropland destroyed.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“This massive disaster has gone largely unnoticed by many donors and journalists,” he added.</blockquote>



This year was the first time Venezuela featured in the poll.



About 3.3 million people have fled political turmoil and economic meltdown in the Latin American country &#8211; many driven by hunger or violence &#8211; and another 2 million could follow next year, according to U.N. estimates.



The United Nations has launched a $738 million appeal to help nearby countries cope with what one U.N. official called a “humanitarian earthquake”.



CARE said evidence on the ground suggested the real number fleeing was far higher than the U.N. figure.



“Given its scale, it’s incredible how neglected the situation in Venezuela is,” said CARE humanitarian expert Tom Newby. “The world needs to wake up to this crisis.”



Afghanistan was ranked the most neglected crisis by Islamic Relief Worldwide, and South Sudan by Save the Children. The UNHCR named Burundi while mixed migration was highlighted by the Danish Refugee Council. -Reuters



<ul><li>Emma Batha </li></ul>

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Ravaged by Ebola and War, Congo Named Most Neglected Crisis of 2018

The issue of term limits for presidents in Africa is a hot one fanned by unrest in Burundi.
South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma recently condemned leaders who tamper with their constitutions to stay in power. His comments could have been directed to Burundi’s Pierre Nkurunziza who lent on the Supreme Court to alter the constitution to extend his stay to three terms. Nkurunziza argues that the first term negotiated by a peace process doesn’t count.
“This business of us agreeing to serve two terms, only to realize 10 years is too short, is a problem,” Zuma is reported to have said in the aftermath of civil unrest in Burundi.
Constitutional law lecturer at Kent University in Britain, Alex Magaisa, says too many political elites violate their constitutions to stay in office.
“This is a dangerous trend in a number of African countries and we have just seen how this can lead to chaos and instability with the failed military coup in Burundi. This is why in Burundi’s neighbor, Rwanda, is of some concern over rumours that President [Paul] Kagame’s stay in office may be extended beyond the term limits. He has probably done a great job for Rwanda, but extending his stay in office will send a very bad message,” he says.
“The notion that a leader is indispensable is an indication of poor leadership because a leader must be able to nurture talent and promote potential successors.”
The Hong Kong-based political analyst, Obert Hodzi, says most of the African leaders wanting to rule for life usually prosper in countries with weak institutions.
“The reason is that all those countries, which include Uganda, Zimbabwe, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon and Angola, are characterized by extractive political and economic institutions that only benefit the political elite and disenfranchise the majority of the countries’ citizens. For the leaders of those countries and their patronage networks to continue enriching themselves, they will need to monopolize political power and stay for as long as they possibly can,” he says.
The presidents of Chad, Gabon, Guinea, Namibia, Togo, Uganda and Algeria managed to change their constitutions to prolong their stay. Other countries’ presidents, such as Zambia’s Frederick Chiluba, Malawi’s Bakili Muluzi and Nigeria’s Olusegun Obasanjo, tried to change constitutions but failed to bend the people’s will. Zimbabwe did not have term limits until 2013; while Comoros, Algeria and Uganda remain without.
As the African Union (AU) met in South Africa, Ghana’s vice president, Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, urged the AU to debate term limits as it could be a solution to Africa’s life-time presidents. This could be tricky, especially when the chairperson of the continental body, Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe, has been at the helm of his country for 35 years. In 2018, he is expected to seek a fresh mandate in Zimbabwe. If he wins, he will be 99 years old when his term expires and Zimbabwe’s leader for 43 years.
Life-time leaders threaten democracy. But leaders of troubled countries, like Rwanda, argue for them. Word is Kagame may seek a third term.
“It is irrational to change exemplary leadership [Paul Kagame] and more so in our context even in the name of constitutionalism,” Rwanda’s former finance minister, Manasseh Nshuti, is reported to have said.
The country’s opposition disagrees. The Democratic Green Party of Rwanda has filed a lawsuit demanding the Supreme Court block any move by parliament to change the constitution to allow Kagame a third term.
“The Democratic Green Party of Rwanda demands the Supreme Court&#8230; to order the Rwandan parliament not to change Article 101 of the constitution,” the party said in a statement.
In neighboring Burundi, around 40 people have died, 100,000 citizens fled to Tanzania, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, over the issue of a term too far. Those fleeing violence are living at the Kagunga, Lake Tanganyika Stadium and Nyarugusu camps in Tanzania.
Burundians protesting against Nkurunziza’s bid for a third term are not alone. Late last year, Burkina Faso saw street protests that pushed out former leader Blaise Compaoré, who wanted to stay in power beyond the elections he won in 1991, 1998, 2005, and 2010.
But what about elections?
Yolande Bouka, a researcher in the conflict prevention and risk analysis division at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in Nairobi, told CNBC Africa that many governments in Africa create an environment where it becomes near impossible to hold free and fair elections.
“Having elections doesn’t mean that you have a democracy, and that is the impression that has been created. There needs to be more attention paid to the reasons for leaders changing the constitution,” says Bouka.
As the warring parties seem to drift further apart with each passing day in Burundi, many are looking to the AU for leadership to gently remind the continent’s presidents that their time is up.

How Long Mr President?

Burundi has been rocked by gunfire, protests and an attempted coup. At least 20 people are feared dead and hundreds of thousands are on the run since the skirmishes began in April.
Protests in East Africa’s smallest country began in the capital Bujumbura on April 25 after President Pierre Nkurunziza announced he was seeking a third term in office, despite a two-term limit in the constitution.
<div id="attachment_3692" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3692" class="size-medium wp-image-3692" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/000_Par8171782-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" />QUALITY REPEAT A Burundian police officer holding a baton and army forces run after protestors throwing stones during a demonstration against incumbent president Pierre Nkurunziza&#8217;s bid for a third term on May 13, 2015 in Bujumbura. In the neighborhood of Musaga, hundreds of people waved sticks and threw stones as police responded with tear gas, a water cannon and live rounds. Protestors looted the local police post in Musaga, burning furniture, mattresses and clothing in a barricade fire, an AFP photographer said. Burundi&#8217;s presidency said an attempted coup by a top general had &#8220;failed&#8221; on May 13, 2015 and pro-president Burundi troops at state broadcaster fire warning shots over the heads of hundreds of protesters, an AFP reporter said. Burundian general Godefroid Niyombare on May 13 announced the overthrow of President Pierre Nkurunziza, following weeks of violent protests against the president&#8217;s bid to stand for a third term. AFP PHOTO / JENNIFER HUXTA</div>
Protestors immediately barricaded roads and set tyres alight. Since then, there have been daily riots in the capital.
The air is full of tension as army and police officials patrol the streets.
A group, led by Godefroid Niyombare, even attempted to overthrow the government while Nkurunziza was in Tanzania for talks with regional leaders on the crisis in his country. Despite initially claiming success, the coup failed, and many of its leaders were arrested. Niyombare remains on the run.
On May 5, the Constitutional Court said that Nkurunziza is eligible for a third term in office after four judges fled the country fearing for their safety. The court stated Nkurunziza’s first term does not count because he was appointed by parliament, not the citizens of Burundi.
Nkurunziza took office 10 years ago after the end of a 12-year civil war. Following a peace agreement in 2005 in Arusha, Tanzania, it was decided that no president will run for more than two terms.
International governments have expressed concern over the court’s decision.
“The eyes of the world are on Burundi. The steps necessary for a peaceful and prosperous democratic future for Burundi should be taken now,” Britain said in a statement.
“Reports of intimidation against members of the Constitutional Court do not give the impression of an independent court that was able to come to an impartial decision.”
“We are deeply concerned about President Nkurunziza’s decision, which flies directly in the face of the constitution of his country,” US Secretary of State, John Kerry, said during a visit to Kenya.
Many fear that civil war will return.
The country has been plagued with tension since it gained independence from Belgium in 1962. The civil war, fought between the country’s Hutu majority and Tutsi minority, began in 1993 and resulted in the death of around 300,000 people.
<div id="attachment_3693" style="width: 221px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3693" class="size-medium wp-image-3693" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/000_Par8173679-211x300.jpg" alt="" width="211" height="300" />Burundi&#8217;s President Pierre Nkurunziza talks to the media at the President&#8217;s office in Bujumbura on May 17, 2015 as he made his first official appearance since an attempted coup against him this week. Nkurunziza has been facing weeks of violent and deadly street protests over his controversial bid to stand for a third consecutive term on office, and on Wednesday top generals announced they were overthrowing him while he was on a visit to neighbouring Tanzania. AFP PHOTO / CARL DE SOUZA</div>
With the presidential elections slated for June 26, Nkurunziza continues to defy international pressure to withdraw from the elections. Furthermore, the president has rejected calls to delay the elections, saying that it “would worsen the current situation”.
So far, Belgium has suspended the $2.2 million it had pledged for Burundi’s elections and the Netherlands says it is reviewing its commitment to the country.
The current government remains hopeful that peaceful and fair elections will still be held.
Since the protests began, more than 100,000 Burundians have fled to neighboring countries Rwanda, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Many fear the ruling party’s youth wing militia ‘Imbonerakure’, according to the UN refugee agency.
The European Commission has disbursed $1.7 million to support and protect Burundian refugees in neighboring countries.
“Such sudden and massive displacement is a humanitarian tragedy and a serious challenge to neighboring countries’ capacities to accommodate refugees. It is a serious concern in an already fragile region,” EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Christos Stylianides, said.
Burundi’s economy has grown by more than 4% annually since 2012 despite several constraints.
Last year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that the country’s medium term economic outlook remains bleak with risks arising from political uncertainties ahead of the general elections and ‘vulnerability to external shocks given Burundi’s narrow export base’.
According to Venuste Karambazi, an independent analyst based in Rwanda, Nkurunziza’s decision to run for office will put a damper on the struggling economy.
“Burundi is a poor country, so when there are riots, like the case now, these contribute to weakening the economy more and more. The capital is paralyzed, trade is paralyzed and other social activities come to a stop. This is a danger to the economy which is already weak. If the situation continues, we risk having a Burundian economy that is destroyed,” Karambazi said.

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Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza Has Died

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How Long Mr President?

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