Uganda’s Defence minister will now lead mediation efforts in Burundi.
According to the Burundian Foreign Minister Alan Nyamitwe, Crispus Kiyonga is scheduled to arrive in Burundi Thursday, to lead discussions aimed at resolving tensions in the country, ahead of the rescheduled presidential poll.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has meanwhile called on Burundi’s government and its opponents to put aside differences and rebuild the country.
The Ugandan leader left Burundi without unlocking the stalemate between the government and the opposition.
Political analysts will perhaps want to question why Uganda would choose to deploy its Defence minister in Burundi, and not the Foreign Affairs one, who’s ideally more suited to steer negotiations diplomatically.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni had been in the country for to two days, and he held crisis talks with Burundi’s ruling CNDD-FDD party and opposition groups.
The Ugandan president, who was appointed the chief mediator to the crisis by the East African community, however, left the country without a deal being reached.
Burundi was plunged into crisis in April 2015, when President Pierre Nkurunziza announced he was running for a third term, which his opponents say violates the constitution and an earlier peace deal.
The ruling party in Burundi and the opposition parties and the civil society have agreed to negotiate intensively and continuously and expeditiously in order to reach an agreement.
The task of mediating is now in the hands of Uganda’s defense minister Crispus Kiyonga.
Burundi was plunged into crisis in April 2015, when President Pierre Nkurunziza announced he was running for a third term, which his opponents say violates the constitution and an earlier peace deal.
During Wednesday’s meeting, one of the opposition leaders hailed the coming together of the main stakeholders.
Museveni called on the parties to put aside their difference and help unify the country . But this initiative is now under immense pressure, as time is running out.
The presidential election at the center of the dispute is now just six days away.
