By Elie Mutangana
The principal opposition party in Burundi, the National Freedom Council (CNL) has appointed a new President following the party’s suspension of its former President and Founder, Agathon Rwasa.
Rwasa was ousted from the party on charges of failing to uphold the law regulating the functions of the party.
Recently on August 15, the party announced that its political committee appointed Immacullee Ntacobakimvuna, who’s a deputy member in the Burundian Parliament, to lead the transitional term until the party organize for election.
According to CNL speaker, Terence Manirambona, the appointment aims to maintain its policies and laws for reaching the projections.
“We have appointed her because she’s the longest serving member of the party in among the committee, and she acquires the ability to uphold the goals of the party,”aid the speaker.
He strictly demanded Rwasa to handover all party’s possessions to the new appointee.
Earlier in April and May, the party had two consecutive congresses aimed to come up with new statutes and internal regulations of the party to set up incentives for planning for the upcoming legislative elections in 2025.
During the congresses, eight executives in the party opposed Rwasa and eventually ousted him from political office and the whole committee and created a new committee.
The suspension brought controversies within the party as well as countrywide.
In June, Burundi’s Interior Ministry consequently announced the suspension of CNL activities, citing the “irregularities and unconstitutional behavior”.
“We are banning all activities arranged by the irregularly constituted groups within the party. We have concerns that situation can root insecurities and chaos in the country.
“We are only authorizing the meetings intended to pacify the tensions within the party,” said Martin Niteretse, Burundi’s Minister of the Interior in June.
Responding to the decision, Secretary General of the CNL, Simon Bizimungu, denounced it and called it “a serious violation of the constitution and the law on political parties, which forbid any intervention of public organic in the functions of political parties”.
He also accused the decision of intention to neutralize the party’s plans for the 2025 legislative elections for the benefits of the leading party CNDD-FDD.
