Burundi’s Evariste Ndayishimiye, has been sworn in as President of the country as he begins his first term in office.
He was elected President in May but was due to take over in August until President Pierre Nkurunziza died in office from heart attack.
Following a crisis over who has to take over to lead the country, the constitutional court ordered that he gets sworn in as soon as possible.
He is now taking over two months earlier than planned. His swearing in was attended by dignitaries who had to observe coronavirus precautions such as hand-washing and temperature checks.
The event was streamed live on the internet.
Mr Ndayishimiye is a former rebel leader and was picked by the ruling party, the CNDD-FDD, picked as its candidate for this year’s election.
He was the party’s secretary general. Ndayishimiye, 52, was also the head of department of military affairs in the president’s office.
Ndayishimiye served as minister of the interior and security under late President Nkurunziza.
He studied law when Burundi’s civil war erupted in 1993 after the assassination of President Melchior Ndadaye.
The current president also reportedly survived an assassination plot before fleeing into exile in 1995.
Ndayishimiye subsequently supported and closely worked with Nkurunziza during the Arusha peace talks between the government and the FDD rebels.
Burundi is one of the world’s poorest countries and lost donor funding after the political violence following the 2015 election.
Its GDP per capita was $270 per person in 2018, World Bank statistics show.
Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza dies of ‘heart attack’
Source: Africafeeds.com
