Two and a half weeks after the sudden death of outgoing President Pierre Nkurunziza, at the age of 55, after 15 years in power, Burundi celebrated in meditation, Friday, June 26, its national funeral.
A national tribute was paid to him in the Ingoma stadium in Gitega. Covered with the Burundian flag, the coffin was transported on a Jeep preceded by a brass band and accompanied by a detachment of generals marching in step.
The guests, distributed around the entire perimeter of the stadium according to their province of origin, were dressed in white, with for men a photo of the deceased printed on shirts and T-shirts, as requested by the authorities.
Screams, tears and moans
In the grandstand, the former first lady, Denise Bucumi, was surrounded by the new Burundian head of state, Évariste Ndayishimiye, and the former Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete.
As the coffin passed, spectators were invited to get up without clapping and bow. When the body of the ex-president arrived at the stadium, screams, tears and moans were heard. Several people then passed out, affected by the emotion or the strong heat.
"It is not easy to find the right words in a situation like this, where the family of the late His Excellency Pierre Nkurunziza, his friends and the whole country have lost a father, a friend, a savior and a chief of the state without having had time to accompany it, "said the new president, Évariste Ndayishimiye, on the verge of sobs.
Funeral convoy under strong police protection
"In the Bible, it says that we must thank God in all things," said Denise Bucumi, imperturbable. "God gave me the strength to accept the death of Nkurunziza and to thank him."
Like his wife who is an evangelist pastor, Pierre Nkurunziza was a very believing Christian, who believed he benefited from divine anointing.
Despite the Covid-19, social distancing measures were not respected and, with the exception of a few officials, no one wore a mask in the stadium.
Declared a holiday, the day started at the Cinquantenaire hospital in Karusi (center), where Pierre Nkurunziza died, with "a tribute paid to the deceased in the strictest family intimacy by his wife (...), his children and relatives, "an AFP presidential official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The funeral convoy, under strong police protection, then left the hospital to head to Gitega, the administrative capital of the country located 60 km southwest of Karusi. Thousands of people gathered at the side of the road to pay tribute to the late president.
Pierre Nkurunziza was then buried on the site of a building supposed to be dedicated to the victims of the various crises that the country has gone through but which was not unanimous and was never inaugurated. A new monument will be built there later.
This sudden disappearance shocked the country. If Pierre Nkurunziza died officially of a cardiac arrest, the Burundians wonder today if their former president, who was in "respiratory distress" at the time of his death according to a medical source contacted by AFP, did not succumbed to the new coronavirus.
With AFP
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