Central Africa Report

The report examines the 2015 crisis in Burundi, arguing that while President Pierre Nkurunziza's attempt to secure an unconstitutional third term was the immediate trigger, the situation was underpinned by a long history of government intransigence, systemic repression of the opposition, and corruption. It details the CNDD-FDD's strategy of consolidating power through the 'nyakurisation' method of dividing opposition parties and the use of legislative tools to restrict civil liberties. The document also analyzes the internal fractures within the ruling party, the failure of the Arusha Agreement's power-sharing framework, and the subsequent violent crackdown on protestors, the media, and civil society following a failed coup attempt in May 2015.

• President Pierre Nkurunziza's decision to run for a third term in 2015 conflicted with the Burundian Constitution and the 2000 Arusha Agreement, which limited presidents to two terms. This triggered a crisis resulting in 542 deaths and the displacement of 265,175 refugees as of June 3, 2016.
• The ruling CNDD-FDD party employed a strategy termed 'nyakurisation' to weaken the opposition by creating dissident groups within opposition parties and offering financial incentives to leaders to join the ruling party.
• Between 2011 and 2013, the government passed several repressive laws to restrict political space, including a 2011 law on political party accreditation, a 2012 law penalizing opposition leaders for 'lies or slander', a 2013 law restricting public demonstrations, and a 2013 media law restricting reporting on national security.
• Internal divisions within the CNDD-FDD emerged over the third-term bid, pitting civilian intellectuals and some military leaders against a hard core of military generals, including General Adolphe Nshimirimana and Alain-Guillaume Bunyoni, who promoted the project.
• Corruption was prevalent during Nkurunziza's presidency, exemplified by the 2006 illicit sale of the presidential Falcon 50 plane and a 2010 contract for telecommunication material valued at US$500 million, which exceeded the state's annual revenue for that year.
• A failed coup attempt on May 13-14, 2015, led by Godefroid Niyombare and Cyrille Ndayirukiye, provided the government with a pretext to systematically destroy private radio stations and crack down on civil society and protestors.
• The 2015 elections were widely viewed as lacking credibility because the European Union and African Union refused to observe them, and the East African Community monitoring report stated they fell short of standards for free, fair, and transparent elections.

APA

Bouka, Y., & Wolters, S. (2016). Central Africa Report. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/CentralAfricaReportNo7.pdf

Chicago

Bouka, Yolande, and Stephanie Wolters. Central Africa Report. Institute for Security Studies, 2016. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/CentralAfricaReportNo7.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bouka |first1=Yolande |last2=Wolters |first2=Stephanie |title=Central Africa Report |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=July 2016 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/CentralAfricaReportNo7.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bouka2016central, author = {Bouka, Yolande and Wolters, Stephanie}, title = {{Central Africa Report}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2016}, month = jul, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/CentralAfricaReportNo7.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }