National Security: a confusing speech by the Minister of Home Affairs

In a meeting with religious leaders and the governors of the provinces, Edouard Nduwimana, the Minister of Home Affairs indicated that security is observed throughout the country. “The only crimes we hear of concern social conflicts especially land-based and witchcraft cases.”-By J.Berchmans Siboniyo

Alexandre Niyungeko: “Respect the law and work according to your professional ethics, (…) the minister has nothing to teach you in journalism’ ©Iwacu

Nevertheless, Mr. Nduwimana stated in the same meeting that terrorists from different movements are observed in Burundi these days. “There were only some signs of terrorist menace before, but none believed that local people would work together with Al-Qaida, Al-Shabaab or other terrorist movements. But now, two Burundians have been arrested are being interrogated for those exact crimes”, he says.

The Minister goes on warning ‘some media and journalists who diffuse false information showing that the security situation is questionable in the country’. “The first enemy that the country has is any individual who doesn’t want the elections to take place. He who doesn’t want the elections to take place wants chaos”, he states. He adds that journalists are not the only ones who see what is happening in the country. Instead, some of them create situations and make broadcast them just to show Burundians and the international community that there is insecurity in the country.

Alexandre Niyungeko, the Chairman of the Burundian Journalists’ Union (UBJ) finds it contradictory that the same minister mentions that there is full security throughout all the country, while at the same time mentioning that there are Burundians who might be cooperating with world terrorist movements such as Al-Qaida and Al-Shabaab. Concerning the information broadcasted and the fact that some of them create situations, Mr. Niyungeko wonders that there must be some interest on the side of the Minister to not broadcast what is happening in the country. “Respect the law and work according to your professional ethics, otherwise the minister has nothing to teach you in journalism”, he tells journalists.