After Burundi, all eyes on elections in virus-free Tanzania

On June 8 as it prepared to witness George Floyd’s memorial service, the world was shocked to receive news of the death of Pierre Nkurunziza, the outgoing president of Burundi. He died of a heart attack aged 55, after 15 years in power.

In August, President Nkurunziza was slated to hand over power to his successor and ally General Evariste Ndayishimiye, the winner of the elections held last month. After stepping down he would be taken on the specially-created position of Supreme Guide of Patriotism. He was also assured a $530,000 parting gift as well as a luxury mansion, according to a law passed in his most recent term.

He is survived by his wife Denise Bucimi, who is hospitalised in Nairobi, and five children.

Mr Nkurunziza was young, notoriously fit due to his passion for football as he spent his free time in the pitch playing for his Hallelujah Football Club. He was an affable man who rarely failed to join his regional counterparts for meetings. His 15-year tenure as president of Burundi was not without conflict and controversy.

Although he acquiesced to a General Election, this came after years of active dissidence from various groups in his country.

Displaced Burundians suffered as internal strife and its consequences pushed a weary people out of their homes.

His insistence on holding elections in May this year came after declaring Burundi to be free of Covid-19. Burundi expelled World Health Organisation representatives prior to the polls and required observers to undergo a 14-day quarantine one week before voting so that they were effectively rendered ineligible to oversee the exercise. Except for East African Community (EAC) member state observers who were already present in the country.

During campaigns and polls Burundi exposed her citizens to mass infections through public gatherings, secured the complicity of the EAC, created a questionable ‘succession’ plan for the outgoing president and engineered a ‘peaceful transition’ by performing ‘democracy’.

The anticipated Supreme Guide of Patriotism died barely two months later. Like a tragic Greek, Nkurunziza aimed for over-arching power and fell dramatically short. The expedience that gives rise to poor decisions that put everyone at risk is too often driven by hubris and fear.

As Tanzania approaches the General Election later this year, the question has been raised: Will Dar alter her course in response to what happened in her fellow EAC member country?

Well, you tell me, dear reader. Do Tanzanian lives matter, given what is at stake? To whom do they matter? Tanzania was declared to be Covid-19 free as of this month. You tell me.