This 19 October, the Burundi National Assembly has overwhelmingly voted for an MP that will replace Hafsa Mossi, the late EALA MP -killed in July 2016.
Burundi National Assembly vote for a new MP to replace Hafsa Mossi in EALA
Jean Marie Muhirwa, 36, from a Hutu ethnic group, senator and former administrator of Bwambarangwe Commune of Kirundo northern province has been voted for by 103 MPs and against by 6.
This member of the ruling party- CNDD-FDD since 1994 has been elected to replace Hafsa Mossi, also Hutu from the same party, killed on 13 July 2016.
Pascal Nyabenda, the National Assembly speaker says the vote has been held following the East African Legislative Assembly-EALA speaker correspondence addressed to the National Assembly to replace Hafsa Mossi within 90 days. “The correspondence dates back from 20 July and the deadline is on 20 October. There is a need to replace her on time and Muhirwa has already handed in his resignation from Burundi senate”, says the speaker.
According to the Treaty for the EAC establishment, the election of members of the Assembly must be held in compliance with article 50. The latter stipulates that “the National Assembly of each Partner State shall elect, not from among its members, nine members of the Assembly, who shall represent as much as it is feasible, the various political parties represented in the National Assembly, shades of opinion, gender and other special interest groups in that partner state, in accordance with such procedure as the National Assembly of each partner State may determine”.
Nyabenda goes on to say that it has been difficult to abide by the article. “You know that there are some EALA MPs who have been expelled from their political parties such as Jérèmie Ngendakumana from CNDD-FDD, Martin Nduwimana, Frédéric Ngenzebuhoro, both from UPRONA and Yves Nsabimana from Sahwanya Frodebu Nyakuri party. The EALA has indicated that they must end their terms in April 2017 to be replaced”, he says.
Furthermore, Jean Marie Muhirwa whose term will end in April 2017 will be sworn in publicly in EALA session to be held in Zanzibar on 20 October. “He is leaving for Tanzania this afternoon”, says Nyabenda at the end of the vote.
Hafsa Mossi whom he replaces was killed on 13 July 2016 at Nyankoni Avenue in Gihosha zone in the eastern part of Bujumbura the capital. The criminals ’vehicle overtook her car before being shot dead. Her death saddened several people including Burundi top level government officials and the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA).
Mossi’s assassination is in a series of targeted killings of several senior military officers close to President Pierre Nkurunziza , since the outbreak of the crisis in April 2015, when he declared he would run for a third term in office.
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