By Enyichukwu Enemanna
President of Burundi, Évariste Ndayishimiye, has condemned rumours of a coup against him while he was away for two weeks for meetings in Cuba and at the UN General Assembly in New York.
In an address upon return to the country on Sunday night, Mr Ndayishimiye blamed the rumour on “people who have always wanted to paint a bad image” of Burundi.
Barely a week after the president left the country on 10 September, rumours circulated on social media on alleged plot to forcefully remove him from office.
Some African countries have had a change of government in recent times with military sacking democratically elected governments.
Niger and Gabon are the latest in the list of African countries where juntas have grabbed power.
The source of the rumours is not yet clear in Burundi, a country that has experienced more than 10 successful and failed coups.
“Back in the day we went through it, but now our hearts are calm, sleep knowing well that you will wake up and go to your work,” Mr Ndayishimiye said.
On Sunday before his arrival, the country’s ministry of interior announced on X (formerly Twitter) that “no house is burning”, urging people not to care about “those rumours that distract”.
