Senior advisor to Burundi President survived an assassination attempt

The area where the attack occurred was besieged by security forces

Willy Nyamitwe, senior advisor to President Pierre Nkurunziza in charge of communication has survived an assassination attempt in the capital Bujumbura in the night of the 28th November. Nyamitwe was slightly injured on his arm, one of his bodyguards killed and another one seriously injured.

“He was attacked while he was returning home in the western suburb of Kajaga in Mutimbuzi Commune of Bujumbura Province, and this was not the first time to be targeted”, says Pierre Nkurikiye, the spokesperson of the Burundian police. He says this is the third assassination attempt he survives. He says the first time is when he was coming from abroad and the second time when he attended a conference held in Panoramique Hotel in Bujumbura city center in November this year.

Since early morning, the Kajaga suburb was besieged by security forces and the Bujumbura-Gatumba road was blocked. The residents of the area say security forces mounted a search operation and arrested 28 people because they were not registered in the household copybooks. “We didn’t know what was happening. We heard heavy gunshots and a grenade explosion yesterday. It was around 9:30 p.m.”, says a resident who lives in the locality.

The police spokesperson, Pierre Nkurikiye, says unknown armed men (between five and ten) threw three grenades but only one exploded. “Caporal Jean Claude Nduwimana, from the Burundian army, who works with people in Rwanda, is among the plotters of this failed assassination attempt. He was in possession of two pistols. Investigations are ongoing to identify other criminals”, he says.

Nkurikiye goes on to say that the apprehended soldier accused Colonel Dieudonné Dushimagize also known as “Gangi”, recently arrested and transferred to Mpimba Central prison, of acting as an intermediary between different attack perpetrators based in Burundi and Rwanda. “Their intention is to eliminate top level government officials. They have the same modus operandi and the police are aware of it and are ready to dismantle them”, he says.

Burundi has plunged into a political turmoil since April 2015 when President Pierre Nkurunziza announced his bid for a third term in office.

Since then, more than 500 people have died and over 250,000 have been forced to flee the country, according to the UN report.