PROGRESS OF COUP ATTEMPT IN BURUNDI.

The whereabouts of Burundi’s president, Pierre Nkurunziza – initially reported on Wednesday to be flying home from a summit in Tanzania – were unknown after a former ally launched a coup in his absence following weeks of protests sparked by Nkurunziza’s deeply unpopular decision to seek a third term in office. There was ­speculation late on Wednesday that the president may have travelled to a third country elsewhere in the region.

On Wednesday afternoon, Major General Godefroid Niyombare, who was fired by Nkurunziza as intelligence chief three months ago, told reporters at a barracks in the capital, Bujumbura, that he had “dismissed” the president and was working with civil society groups, religious leaders and politicians to form a transitional government.

The announcement followed three weeks of violent unrest that has left at least 20 people dead, forced more than 50,000 to flee the country and plunged Burundi into its worst crisis since the end of its 12-year civil war in 2006.

“Regarding President Nkurunziza’s arrogance and defiance of the international community, which advised him to respect the constitution and Arusha peace agreement, the committee for the establishment of the national concord decide President Nkurunziza is dismissed,” said Niyombare. “His government is dismissed too.”
The general’s remarks were later broadcast on local radio stations. 
Nkurunziza had travelled to Dar es Salaam to discuss the political violence with fellow regional presidents and was not in Burundi when the news broke. A Tanzanian official told reporters that Nkurunziza had not attended the talks in Dar and was returning home.
Rumours had swirled shortly before the general’s announcement was made, with Burundians huddled around radios waiting for information. After the broadcast, the streets of Bujumbura flooded with people jumping and screaming jubilant cries of “Peace in Burundi! Peace in Burundi!”

In Independence Square in the centre of of the city – where the smell of the morning’s tear gas still lingered and protesters showed bullet casings from the live ammunition they said police had fired on them earlier in the day – people gathered, whooping, shouting, and honking congratulatory messages to each other and the military. 

Protesters clambered on vehicles roofs, waving tree branches and placards shouting “No third term! No third term!” Some main roads in the city were so congested with revellers that they became impassable. 

Na Mwanaharakati.