26 Facts About Pierre Nkurunziza

Pierre Nkurunziza was a Burundian politician who served as the ninth president of Burundi for almost 15 years from August 2005 until his death in June 2020.

Pierre Nkurunziza held the post controversially for three terms, facing bloody opposition, sparking significant public unrest in 2015.

Pierre Nkurunziza announced his intention not to stand for re-election in 2020 and instead ceded power to Evariste Ndayishimiye, whose candidacy he had endorsed.

Pierre Nkurunziza died on 8 June 2020 shortly before the official end of his term.

Pierre Nkurunziza was born on 18 December 1964 in Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi, shortly after the country's independence from Belgian rule in 1962.

Pierre Nkurunziza was one of six children born into a family from Buye in Mwumba, Ngozi Province, where Nkurunziza spent his early years.

Pierre Nkurunziza's father, Eustache Ngabisha, was a politician from the Hutu ethnic group and a Catholic.

Pierre Nkurunziza's mother, Domitille Minani, was an assistant nurse from the Tutsi ethnic group who was Protestant.

Pierre Nkurunziza attended school in Ngozi and studied at the prestigious athenee in Gitega after his father's death.

Pierre Nkurunziza enrolled at the Institute of Physical Education and Sports at the University of Burundi and obtained a degree in physical education in 1990.

Pierre Nkurunziza was a football coach for Muzinga FC and Union Sporting in the country's first division.

Pierre Nkurunziza was still teaching at the University of Burundi but was forced to flee in 1995 after hundreds of Hutu students were killed.

Pierre Nkurunziza spent several years in hiding in the bush and was himself sentenced to death in absentia by a government-backed court in 1998 for planting land mines.

Pierre Nkurunziza fought for their militia and gained the nickname "Pita".

Pierre Nkurunziza was nearly killed near Gitega in 2001 but interpreted his survival as a sign that he was destined to lead the group.

Pierre Nkurunziza became Minister for Good Government and the General Inspection of the State in the transitional government of Domitien Ndayizeye which was considered "a springboard post at a moment when electoral preparations were under way to complete the transition".

Pierre Nkurunziza presided over the reconstruction of the Burundian state on the basis of the inter-ethnic compromise enshrined in the Arusha Accords which mandated the partition of state positions between Tutsi, Hutu, and the minority Twa ethnic groups.

However, Pierre Nkurunziza's reputation became increasingly tarnished in the face of political factionalism, corruption, and continued insecurity.

However, Pierre Nkurunziza was re-elected for a second term in July 2010 with a big majority but was effectively unopposed, as the polls were boycotted by opposition parties.

Dissent came to a head with the public announcement on 25 April 2015 that Pierre Nkurunziza would stand for a third term in the presidential elections scheduled for June that year.

In 2016, Pierre Nkurunziza hired Luc Michel as his personal advisor.

The East African Community and African Union attempted to mediate the conflict unsuccessfully and Pierre Nkurunziza's regime became increasingly isolated.

Pierre Nkurunziza withdrew Burundi from the International Criminal Court in 2017 and advocated constitutional reforms which would allow longer presidential terms which were approved in a disputed referendum in May 2018.

Ndayishimiye was considered to be a "close ally" and it had been reported that Pierre Nkurunziza "wanted to run the country from behind the scenes" after his resignation using Ndayishimiye as a puppet ruler.

Pierre Nkurunziza died on 8 June 2020, aged 55, at the Fiftieth Anniversary Hospital of Karuzi.

Pierre Nkurunziza's death occurred after the 2020 elections, but ahead of the projected hand-over of power in August.