© AFP – TCHANDROU NITANGA
Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye in June 2020.
Évariste Ndayishimiye drives the point home. The Head of State, who regularly attacks the justice system in Burundi, which he accuses of being very corrupt and the source of all the country’s ills, has this time publicly acknowledged that it was at the orders of the executive. The Burundian president said so in a video where he addresses the administrative officials of the country, in the province of Muyinga, in the east. A video that has been buzzing for a few days on social networks.
Évariste Ndayishimiye, the President of Burundi once once more explained his vision of justice. For him, no one should waste their time filing a complaint once morest the State for a simple reason: justice, that he nevertheless regularly criticizesis under his command.
« Filing a complaint once morest the state is a mistake. Even the judges didn’t know it, I taught them, and they laugh when I tell them regarding it. In this case, the State becomes both judge and party. How are you going to file a complaint once morest the State even if it bullies you? But justice belongs to the state, it is an institution of the state. Before, we confused the government and the state, and people filed complaints once morest it. A state never breaks the law. »
The controversy has been in full swing since Évariste Ndayishimiye’s video has been circulating in particular in WhatsApp groups, where people can give free rein to their criticisms without fear of being repressed.
Faustin Ndikumana is the president of Parcem (Word and Actions for the Awakening of Consciences and the Evolution of Mentalities), one of the main organizations which campaigns for good governance. He is one of the few Burundians who continues to speak publicly in the country. For him, ” no rule of law without independent justice » :
« The first and fundamental principle of separation of powers is the main pillar of any democratic regime. If we confuse the state with justice, the situation becomes difficult. It is authoritarianism. It becomes difficult to talk regarding the rule of law in these conditions. »
President Ndayishimiye has been promoting foreign investment since he came to power. A Burundian businessman warns: ” Your speech will rather discourage them. »