Burundi’s parliament on Wednesday approved the appointment of a new prime minister after President Evariste Ndayishimiye sacked his prime minister following allegations of a possible coup plot against him, reported The TRT World.
The President sacked Prime Minister Alain Guillaume Bunyoni and his cabinet chief General Gabriel Nizigama on Wednesday.
During an emergency National Assembly session called on Wednesday via urgent messages, Burundi’s lawmakers approved the appointment of Security Minister Gervais Ndirakobuca as the new prime minister in a unanimous 105-0 vote. Ndirakobuca headed the ministry of the interior, community development, and public security since 2020.
“The President of the Republic proposed Gervais Ndirakobuca to be the prime minister, and the president has the mandate to choose who he wants to work with,” said Gelase Ndabirabe, the Speaker of Parliament, before lawmakers approved the new prime minister.
Mr. Bunyoni had been in office as Burundi’s prime minister for two years. He had also served as Minister for Internal Security during president Nkurunziza’s regime.
Colonel Aloys Sindayihebura, who was in charge of domestic intelligence within the National Intelligence Service, has been appointed as Ndayishimiye’s new chief of staff – a post sometimes described as a “super prime minister”.
Bunyoni’s dismissal comes amid growing political tension in the country. Last week, Ndayishimiye expressed frustration and warned government officials against any move of carrying out a coup.
“Do you think an army general can be threatened by someone saying they would stage a coup d’état? Who is that? Whoever it is should come and in the name of God I will defeat them,” Burundi’s president said while addressing government officials last Friday.
While he did not mention who it was, many media outlets attributed his frustration to the growing rift with his then prime minister, who is also a general.
Burundi has witnessed several coups and attempted coups, presidential assassinations, with the latest failed coup being in 2015.
