Burundi’s political party Sahwanya-Frodebu is calling for justice after 28 years since the former party leader and Burundi President Cyprien Ntaryamira died in a plane crash in Rwanda after attending a regional summit in Dar es Salaam.
He had just completed two months in the office after being appointed by the National Assembly on January 13, 1994 when he died in a plane crash in Kigali, Rwanda in April 1994 on his way back from Dar es Salaam.
“Neither national justice nor international justice, no one has yet dared to undertake credible legal proceedings to bring justice to the Burundian people in general and to the bereaved families in particular,” a communique reads from Sahwanya-Frodebu political party.
President Cyprien Ntaryamira was the victim of a plane crash with his counterpart, Rwandan President Juvenale Habyarimana.
His political party Sahwanya-Frodebu in a statement indicated that it regrets up to date no thorough investigations were made to bring the perpetrators to face justice and the reason behind his killing.
During his swearing in speech of February 5, 1994, President Ntaryamira advocated discipline in all aspects of life in the country.
“It is crucial that every Burundian understands that it is strictly forbidden to violate human rights. Whether you are Hutu, Tutsi or Twa, everyone deserves to be shown respect on a daily basis, in their family or even in everything he does,” the late Cyprien Ntaryamira said during his maiden speech.
Ntaryamira said “Without delay, we will prioritize discipline in all areas of the country. Discipline in the army, discipline in educational institutions, discipline in work, discipline in governance.”
He died at the age of 39 in a Rwandan plane crash on April 6, 1994, two months after his inauguration alongside Rwanda’s President Juvenale Habyarimana and the two ministers Bernard Ciza and Cyriaque Simbizi.