President Jakaya Kikwete.
By Mkinga Mkinga,The Citizen Reporter
In Summary
- Mission heads to Bujumbura amid protests that have rocked the country, killing 12 so far
- The team dispatched by President Kikwete is expected to prepare a report that will direct the EAC Summit of Heads of State on how to address the insecurity in that country
Dar es Salaam. President Jakaya
Kikwete has sent a fact-finding mission to Burundi, which is caught up
in a crisis over President Pierre Nkurunziza’s bid for a third term in
office.
The team is expected to prepare a report that will
direct the East African Community Summit of Heads of State on how to
address the insecurity in that country.
Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
minister Bernard Membe will lead a team of foreign affairs officials
from other EAC member states in the fact-finding mission. The mission is
heading to Burundi amid protests that have rocked the country, with the
death toll rising to 12 by Monday. Mr Membe leaves today, according to
the head of the government’s communication unit in the Foreign Affairs
and International Affairs ministry, Ms Mindi Kasiga. The mission should
be done with by the end of this week.
Speaking in New York on Monday, President Kikwete,
who is also the EAC Summit chairman, told UN Secretary General Ban
Ki-moon that decisive action would depend on the findings of the
mission, which starts its work today. “But whatever the case, the basic
solution to the problems which Burundi is going through now lies with
Burundians,” he said. “They have a constitution and law which should be
followed in order to end this problem. Using force will not help them
much.”
The UN secretary general had asked President
Kikwete to shed light on what is being done to help Burundi deal with
the crisis. This is the first tangible action the EAC has taken since
chaos broke out in Burundi. Several people have died, hundred others are
injured and property has been destroyed in clashes between police and
demonstrators opposed to a decision to give President Pierre Nkurunziza
an opportunity to run for the presidency for the third time.
Said Ms Kasiga: “The fact finding mission will do
its job for a day in Burundi. While in Bujumbura, it will meet various
stakeholders and compile a report from facts gathered in Bujumbura which
will guide the EAC leaders in an extraordinary summit President Kikwete
will host.”
Some 1,852 Burundians seeking refuge arrived in
Kigoma last week following political instability in their country due to
President Nkurunziza’s move to seek a third term.
According to a statement by Ministry of Home
Affairs spokesperson Isaac Nantanga, the Burundian refugees entered
Tanzania through Kigaye, Sekeoya, Kakonko, Kosovo, Kagunga and Kibuye
villages.
After verification with immigration officers in
the region, 1,252 among them have been moved to Nyarugusu Camp in Kasulu
District as the rest of the refugees are interrogated before they are
sent on to refugee camps.
Meanwhile, the Burundi Constitutional Court on
Monday approved the nomination of Mr Nkurunziza as the ruling CNDD-FDD
party’s candidate in next month’s presidential election. The court made
the decision Monday, a day after four of its members fled to
neighbouring Rwanda fearing for their safety. “We are worried about our
security,” said one of the Constitutional Court judges. “That is why I
decided to leave the country.”
The court ruled that President Nkurunziza was
eligible for a third term since he has been elected only once through
universal suffrage.
Mr Nkurunziza rose to power in 2005 after being
elected by parliament and went on to win a second term five years later
by popular vote.
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